{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60559/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60559","id":"gutenberg_60559","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60559","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Genesis -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.","Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Cosmogony, Babylonian","Mythology, Assyro-Babylonian"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and\npunctuation remains unchanged.\n\nIn footnote 8 the star Benelnash is usually called Benetnash. This may\nbe an alternative spelling so is unchanged.\n\nIn Chapter XIV it is possible that \u201cchange\u201d should read \u201cchain\u201d in 32.\nthou didst strike him; to a pillar thou didst change him,\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_.\n\n\n\n\n                   THE CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF GENESIS.\n\n\n[Illustration: Izdubar (Nimrod) in conflict with a lion]\n\n\n                                  THE\n\n                      CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF GENESIS\n\n                              CONTAINING\n\n           THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CREATION, THE DELUGE, THE\n               TOWER OF BABEL, THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM,\n                     THE TIMES OF THE PATRIARCHS,\n                              AND NIMROD;\n\n              BABYLONIAN FABLES, AND LEGENDS OF THE GODS;\n                   FROM THE CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS.\n\n                           BY GEORGE SMITH,\n\n  FORMERLY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ORIENTAL ANTIQUITIES, BRITISH MUSEUM,\n            AUTHOR OF \u201cHISTORY OF ASSURBANIPAL,\u201d \u201cASSYRIAN\n                        DISCOVERIES,\u201d ETC. ETC.\n\n   A NEW EDITION, THOROUGHLY REVISED AND CORRECTED (WITH ADDITIONS),\n\n                            BY A.\u202fH. SAYCE,\n\n           DEPUTY-PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY IN THE\n                         UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.\n\n                         _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._\n\n\n                               NEW YORK:\n                        CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS\n                         743 AND 745 BROADWAY.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE BY THE EDITOR.\n\n\nIt is now five years since the present volume was first laid before\nthe public by Mr. George Smith, just before setting out on his last\nill-fated expedition to the East. It naturally awakened extreme\ninterest and curiosity. The earlier chapters of Genesis no longer\nstood alone. Parallel accounts had been discovered by the author\namong the clay records of ancient Babylonia, which far exceeded in\nantiquity the venerable histories of the Bible. All those who had a\ntheory to support, or a tradition to overthrow, turned eagerly to the\nnewly-discovered documents, which possessed an equal interest for the\nstudents of history, of religion, and of language.\n\nThe five years that have elapsed since the publication of \u201cThe Chaldean\nAccount of Genesis\u201d have been five years of active work and progress\namong Assyrian scholars. The impulse given to Assyrian research by Mr.\nSmith has survived his death; numberless new tablets and fragments of\ntablets have been brought to Europe from Assyria and Babylonia; fresh\nstudents of the inscriptions have risen up in this country and on\nthe continent, more especially in Germany; and the scientific spirit\nwhich has been introduced into the study of the Assyrian language has\nimmeasurably increased our knowledge of it. Thanks to the labours\nof men like Oppert, Lenormant and Guyard in France, or of Schrader,\nDelitzsch, Haupt and Hommel in Germany, texts which were obscure and\ndoubtful at the time of Mr. Smith\u2019s death have now become almost as\nclear as a page of the more difficult portions of the Old Testament.\nThe Assyrian student, moreover, has an advantage which the Hebrew\nstudent has not; he possesses dictionaries and vocabularies compiled by\nthe Assyro-Babylonians themselves, and these frequently throw light on\na word which otherwise would be a \u201chapax legomenon.\u201d\n\nThe more backward condition of our knowledge of Assyrian, however,\nwas not the only difficulty against which Mr. Smith had to contend.\nHe was pressed for time when writing the present volume, which had to\nbe finished before his departure for the East. The class of texts,\nalso, which he had brought to light was a new class hitherto unknown,\nor almost unknown, to the Assyrian decipherer. He had to break fresh\nground in dealing with them. Their style differed considerably from\nthat of the texts previously studied; they had a vocabulary of their\nown, allusions of their own, and even, it may be added, a grammar\nof their own. If the texts had been complete the difficulty perhaps\nwould not have been so great; but it was enormously increased by\ntheir mutilated condition. The skill and success with which Mr. Smith\nstruggled against all these difficulties show more plainly than ever\nwhat a loss Assyrian research has sustained in him.\n\nNevertheless, even the genius of Mr. Smith could not do more than\ngive a general idea of the contents of the fragments, and not always\neven this. A comparison of the translations contained in the present\nedition with those contained in the preceding ones will show to what an\nextent the details of translation have had to be modified and changed,\nsometimes with important consequences. Thus the corrected translation\nof the fragments relating to the Tower of Babel will remove the doubts\nraised by Mr. Smith\u2019s translation as to his correctness in associating\nthem with that event; thus, too, the corrected rendering of a passage\nin the Izdubar Epic will show that the practice of erecting a Bethel or\nsacred stone was familiar to the early Babylonians. In some instances\nMr. Smith has misconceived the true character of a whole text. What he\nbelieved to be a record of the Fall, for instance, is really, as M.\nOppert first pointed out, a hymn to the Creator.\n\nOn the other hand, the fresh materials that have been acquired by the\nBritish Museum during the last five years, or a closer examination\nof the treasures it already possessed, have enabled us to add to the\nnumber of cuneiform texts which illustrate the earlier portions of\nGenesis. Mr. Rassam, for example, has brought home a fragment of the\nDeluge tablet, which not only helps us to fill up some of the _lacun\u00e6_\nin the text, but is also important in another way. It is written, not\nin Assyrian, but in Babylonian cuneiform characters, and comes, not\nfrom an Assyrian, but from a Babylonian library. But it agrees exactly\nwith the corresponding parts of the Assyrian editions of the story, and\nthus furnishes us with a proof of the trustworthiness of the Assyrian\ncopies of the old Babylonian texts. The text, again, which relates to\nthe destruction of a country by a rain of fire, though long contained\nin the British Museum Collection, was first noticed by myself as being\napparently the Babylonian version of the biblical account of the\ndestruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.\n\nNumerous alterations and insertions have had to be made in the text\nwhich accompanies the translations. The latter necessarily occupied the\nmain part of Mr. Smith\u2019s attention; he had neither time nor inclination\nto enter very elaborately into the questions raised by them, or the\nillustrations they might receive from elsewhere. In fact, any adequate\ntreatment of the great Izdubar Epic, for instance, demanded a special\nacquaintance with the method and results of Comparative Philology, as\nwell as a more intimate knowledge of its history and character than was\npossible at the time when Mr. Smith wrote.\n\nA large proportion of the cuneiform texts from which the translations\ncontained in the present volume are made has not yet been published.\nI have, however, gone carefully over them all with the exception of\na small portion of the Izdubar Epic, and endeavoured to bring the\ntranslations up to the level of our present knowledge of the Assyrian\nlanguage. I am indebted to the ready kindness and accurate eye of\nMr. Pinches for copies of almost all the unpublished portions of the\nIzdubar legends. In these he has corrected several faulty readings,\nmore especially that of the name of the pilot of Xisuthrus, which ought\nto be Nes-Hea, \u201cthe lion of Hea.\u201d Mr. Pinches assures me that the\nname of the deity composing the second part of the name is invariably\nwritten with the numeral 40, the symbol of the god Hea, except once\nwhen the scribe has miswritten 50, the symbol of Bel, and he has\npointed out to me a passage in a bilingual tablet where the name is\nexplained in Assyrian by Nes-Hea. Unfortunately, the texts given in\npp. 103-124 cannot be found, and here therefore I have been obliged to\nleave Mr. Smith\u2019s translations unaltered.\n\nThe reader, however, must remember that no translations of these\nmutilated tablets can be more than approximately correct. Even if the\nmeaning of all the words were well known, and they were divided from\none another (which is not the case), the broken condition of so many\nof the inscriptions would make a good deal of the translation more or\nless conjectural. This must be doubly the case where the signification\nof the words is either unknown or only half known. I have always\nendeavoured to indicate a doubtful word or passage by a query; but\nthere must be instances in which the meaning that I believe ought\nto be assigned to particular words will be corrected by the further\nprogress of discovery. This is even more true of what may be termed\nthe commentary accompanying the translations. Surprises are constantly\nin store for the Assyrian decipherer, and a tiny fragment may suddenly\nthrow a new light on a question he had supposed to be settled. In\nfact, in Assyriology, as in all other branches of science, there is\nno finality; we cannot be more than approximately exact at any given\ntime, and every month enables us to introduce fresh corrections and\nimprovements into our work.\n\nA fresh illustration of the fact has been afforded even while the\npresent volume has been passing through the press. Mr. Pinches has come\nacross two fragments (one marked S 669, the other unnumbered) which\nbelong to two separate copies or editions of a very interesting work.\nThis is nothing less than a list of the ancient epics and legends of\nChaldea, along with the names of their reputed authors, many of whom,\nhowever, are probably as mythical as the famous Rishis of India. The\nlist shows how numerous these early poems were, and how few of them,\ncomparatively, we possess at present. Both fragments belong to the\nsame part of the list, and we are therefore ignorant of many of the\nancient compositions it must originally have contained. Some of the\nworks mentioned receive their names from the heroes celebrated in\nthem, others are named from their opening lines. A distinction is drawn\nbetween those that belonged to the Accadian period, and were written\nby Accadian poets in the Accadian language, and those that were of\nSemitic Babylonian origin. The interest of the list is enhanced by the\ngreat antiquity of the poems it records, none of them being later than\nabout 2000 B.C. Here is a translation of the text as restored from a\ncomparison of the two fragments according to the copies I have made of\nthem:\u2014\n\n\nOBVERSE.\n\n1. _Ca_ ....\n\n2. This is the work (_literally_ from the mouth) of .\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. \u201c_a khus ba a ri_ ....\n\n4. the god .... _tsu bu nu_\u201d .... [Accadian.]\n\n5. This is the work of Nupatuv ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n6. \u201cThe mighty lady, the winged one, Nigirra,\u201d or \u201cBel\u201d ....\n\n7. \u201cHe restored Til-enni,\u201d or \u201cLife.\u201d\n\n8. \u201cMay Merodach the great lord firmly defend.\u201d [Semitic.]\n\n9. This is the work of Basa-Gula, the scribe ...\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n10. \u201cThe king of the sphere in their front,\u201d or \u201cthe lord\u201d .... [Acc.]\n\n11. This is the work of En-me-duga ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n12. .... \u201chead, thy lustre\u201d .... [Acc.]\n\n13. This is the work of Elum ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n14. .... _ci bat_ ....\n\n\nREVERSE.\n\n1. ....\n\n2. (This is the work of ....) ragas, the scribe, the man (of a\nnon-existent tablet).\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. ..... \u201cthe gods\u201d [Acc.]. This is the work of ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n4. .... \u201cthe bull of Bit-Esir (the firmament),\u201d or \u201cThe great fortress\nof the royal crown\u201d .... [Acc.]\n\n5. This is the work of Cus-dib the son of....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n6. .... _nun-na_ [Acc.]. This is the work of Elum-ban-cudur, the\nson of Khumetis, the scribe, the man of (a non-existent) tablet.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. .... \u201cthe _paggalti_ which over heaven are placed\u201d [Sem.].\n\n8. (This) is the work of Gimil-Gula, the son of Il-khigal\nthe scribe, the man of a non-existent tablet.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n9. \u201cThe day of calling, the long day at the dawning of light\u201d (?)\n[Acc.]. This is the work of Ekur (Esiru), the son of Nunna-tur.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n10. The hero Izdubar. This is the work of Sin-lici-unnini the scribe\n....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n11. The hero Etana. This is the work of Nis-Sin the scribe ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n12. The hero the Fox. This is the work of Kak-Merodach the\nson of Eri-Turnunna, the man of a non-existent tablet.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. (The hero) \u2019Sidu. This is the work of \u2019Sidu-labiri\nthe prince, the man of a non-existent tablet.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n14. .... _a tu gab_ [Acc.]. This is the work of Lig-Dimir\nthe scribe, the man (of a non-existent tablet).\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nWhat is meant by the phrase \u201cthe man of a non-existent tablet,\u201d I do\nnot know. Possibly it signifies that the autograph of the author no\nlonger existed at the time the list was drawn up. \u201cThe Bull of the\nfirmament\u201d was a legend which was probably connected with the second\nmonth of the year, originally, it would seem, the first, which like the\nzodiacal sign after which it was named, was called the month of \u201cthe\ndirecting bull.\u201d\n\nFuture excavations will doubtless bring to light some of the poems\nmentioned in the list and not previously known. I have myself lately\ncome across two fragments (S 802 and S 316) which belong to legends\nhitherto unknown, but they are too short to be worth translating.\nWhat curious revelations, however, we may yet expect from the\ncuneiform records may be judged from a small and well preserved\ntablet recently brought to England, which contains a catalogue of the\ngardens belonging to Merodach-Baladan, the contemporary of Hezekiah,\nand grouped according to the districts in which they were situated.\nMerodach-Baladan must have been fond of horticulture, since the\ncatalogue contains the names of no less than sixty-seven seed-gardens,\nbesides six other pleasure-grounds. Many of them were named from the\nlocalities in whose neighbourhood they were, but others bore such\nsignificant titles as \u201cthe forest of reeds,\u201d \u201cthe small enclosure,\u201d or\n\u201cthe garden of the waters of the city.\u201d As the tablet was copied by a\nscribe named Merodach-sum-iddin, probably in the time of Nebuchadnezzar\nor his successors, it is evident that some of the contents of the\nlibrary of Babylon escaped the destruction brought upon that city by\nSennacherib in B.C. 692.\n\nI may add that since the greater part of this edition has been in\ntype, I have found myself able to explain the name of the hero which\nin default of the true transcription has been provisionally read\nIzdubar. The name is composed of three ideographs, the first of\nwhich is the determinative prefix of wood, while the two latter are\nrendered _saptu saplitu_, \u201cthe lower lip,\u201d in Semitic Assyrian. Now M.\nLenormant has shown that Izdubar was originally the Accadian Fire-god,\nand Mr. Boscawen has pointed out that the fire-stick was once used in\nBabylonia; it is therefore evident that the three ideographs composing\nthe name represent the lower piece of wood, with a lip or groove in\nit, which formed the most important part of the primitive fire-machine.\nI believe the Accadian pronunciation of the name will turn out to be\nKibirra.\n\n  A.\u202fH. SAYCE.\n\n _May 21st, 1880._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n  PREFACE                                                       page vi\n\n  CHAPTER I.\u2014THE DISCOVERY OF THE GENESIS\n  LEGENDS.\n\n Cosmogony of Berosus.\u2014Discovery of Cuneiform Inscriptions.\u2014Historical\n Texts.\u2014Babylonian origin of Assyrian literature.\u2014Mythological\n tablets.\u2014Discovery of Deluge texts.\u2014Mutilated condition\n of tablets.\u2014Lecture on Deluge tablets.\u2014\u201cDaily Telegraph\u201d\n offer.\u2014Expedition to Assyria.\u2014Fragments of Creation tablets.\u2014Solar\n Myth.\u2014Second journey to Assyria.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014Clay records.\u2014List of\n texts.\u2014Legend of Oannes.\u2014List of early legends and their authors\n                                                                 page 1\n\n  CHAPTER II.\u2014BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN LITERATURE.\n\n Babylonian literature.\u2014Kouyunjik library.\u2014Fragmentary\n condition.\u2014Arrangement of tablets.\u2014Subjects.\u2014Dates.\u2014Babylonian\n source of literature.\u2014Literary period.\u2014Babylonian\n Chronology.\u2014Accad.\u2014Sumir.\u2014Extinction of the Accadian\n language.\u2014Izdubar legends.\u2014Creation.\u2014Syllabaries and bilingual\n tablets.\u2014Assyrian copies.\u2014Difficulties as to date.\u2014Library of\n Senkereh.\u2014Assyrian empire.\u2014City of Assur.\u2014Library at Calah.\u2014Sargon of\n Assyria.\u2014Sennacherib.\u2014Removal of library to Nineveh.\u2014Assur-bani-pal or\n Sardanapalus.\u2014His additions to library.\u2014Description of contents.\u2014Later\n Babylonian libraries                                                13\n\n  CHAPTER III.\u2014CHALDEAN LEGENDS TRANSMITTED THROUGH\n  BEROSUS AND OTHER ANCIENT AUTHORS.\n\n Berosus and his copyists.\u2014Cory\u2019s\n translation.\u2014Alexander Polyhistor.\u2014Babylonia.\u2014Oannes,\n his teaching.\u2014Creation.\u2014Belus.\u2014Chaldean\n kings.\u2014Xisuthrus.\u2014Deluge.\u2014The Ark.\u2014Return to\n Babylon.\u2014Apollodorus.\u2014Pantibiblon.\u2014Larancha.\u2014Abydenus.\u2014Alorus,\n first king.\u2014Ten kings.\u2014Sisithrus.\u2014Deluge.\u2014Armenia.\u2014Tower of\n Babel.\u2014Kronos and Titan.\u2014Dispersion from Hesti\u00e6us.\u2014Babylonian\n colonies.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014The Sibyl.\u2014Titan and\n Prometheus.\u2014Damascius.\u2014Tauthe.\u2014Moymis.\u2014Kissare and Assorus.\u2014Triad.\u2014Bel\n                                                                     31\n\n  CHAPTER IV.\u2014BABYLONIAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\n Greek accounts.\u2014Mythology local in\n origin.\u2014Antiquity.\u2014Conquests.\u2014Colonies.\u2014Three great gods.\u2014Twelve\n great gods.\u2014Angels.\u2014Spirits.\u2014Anu.\u2014Anatu.\u2014Rimmon.\u2014Istar.\u2014Equivalent\n to Venus.\u2014Hea.\u2014Oannes.\u2014Merodach.\u2014Bel or Zeus.\u2014Zirat-banit, Succoth\n Benoth.\u2014Bel.\u2014Sin the moon god.\u2014Ninip.\u2014Samas.\u2014Nergal.\u2014Annuit.\u2014Table\n of gods                                                              45\n\n  CHAPTER V.\u2014BABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE CREATION.\n\n Mutilated condition of tablets.\u2014List of subjects.\u2014Description\n of chaos.\u2014Tiamat.\u2014Generation of gods.\u2014Damascius.\u2014Comparison\n with Genesis.\u2014Three great gods.\u2014Doubtful fragments.\u2014Fifth\n tablet.\u2014Stars.\u2014Moon.\u2014Sun.\u2014Abyss or chaos.\u2014Creation of moon.\u2014Creation\n of animals.\u2014Monotheism.\u2014Hymn to Merodach.\u2014The black-headed race\n or Adamites.\u2014Garden of Eden.\u2014The flaming sword.\u2014The fall.\u2014The\n Sabbath.\u2014Sacred tree.\u2014Hymn to\n the Creator                                                          56\n\n  CHAPTER VI.\u2014OTHER BABYLONIAN ACCOUNTS OF THE CREATION.\n\n Cuneiform accounts originally traditions.\u2014Variations.\u2014Account\n of Berosus.\u2014Tablet from Cutha.\u2014Translation.\u2014Composite\n animals.\u2014Eagle-headed men.\u2014Seven brothers.\u2014Destruction of men.\u2014Seven\n wicked spirits.\u2014Mythical explanations of lunar eclipses.\u2014Hymn to the\n God of Fire.\u2014War in heaven.\u2014Tiamat.\u2014Merodach the great dragon.\n \u2014Parallel Biblical account                                           91\n\n  CHAPTER VII.\u2014THE SIN OF THE GOD ZU.\n\n God Zu.\u2014Obscurity of legend.\u2014Translation.\u2014Sin of Zu.\u2014Anger of the\n gods.\u2014Speeches of Anu to Rimmon.\u2014Rimmon\u2019s answer.\u2014Speech of Anu\n to Nebo.\u2014Answer of Nebo.\u2014Lugal-turda. \u2014Changes to a bird.\u2014The Zu\n bird.\u2014Bird of prey.\u2014Lugal-turda lord of Amarda.\u2014Prometheus          115\n\n  CHAPTER VIII.\u2014THE EXPLOITS OF DIBBARA.\n\n Dibbara.\u2014God of Pestilence.\u2014Itak.\u2014The Plague.\u2014Seven warrior\n gods.\u2014Destruction of people.\u2014Anu.\u2014Goddess of Karrak.\u2014Speech of\n Bel.\u2014Sin and destruction of Babylonians.\u2014Samas.\u2014Sin and destruction of\n Erech.\u2014Istar.\u2014The great god and Duran.\u2014Cutha.\u2014Internal wars.\u2014Itak goes\n to Syria.\u2014Power and glory of Dibbara.\u2014Song of Dibbara.\u2014Blessings on\n his worship.\u2014God Ner.\u2014Prayer to arrest the Plague.\u2014Antiquity of the\n legend.\u2014Itak                                                        125\n\n  CHAPTER IX.\u2014BABYLONIAN FABLES.\n\n Fables.\u2014Common in the East.\u2014Description.\u2014Power of speech in\n animals.\u2014Story of the eagle.\u2014Serpent.\u2014Samas.\u2014The eagle caught.\u2014Eats\n the serpent.\u2014Anger of birds.\u2014Etana.\u2014Seven gods.\u2014Third tablet.\u2014Speech\n of eagle.\u2014Story of the fox.\u2014His cunning.\u2014Judgment of Samas.\u2014His\n show of sorrow.\u2014His punishment.\u2014Speech of fox.\u2014Fable of the\n horse and ox.\u2014They consort together.\u2014Speech of the ox.\u2014His good\n fortune.\u2014Contrast with the horse.\u2014Hunting the ox.\u2014Speech of the\n horse.\u2014Offers to recount story.\u2014Story of Istar.\u2014Further tablets     140\n\n  CHAPTER X.\u2014FRAGMENTS OF MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS.\n\n Atarpi.\u2014Punishment of world.\u2014Riddle of wise man.\u2014Nature and\n universal presence of air.\u2014Sinuri.\u2014Divining by fracture of reed.\u2014The\n foundling.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014Obscurity of legend.\u2014Not noticed by\n Berosus.\u2014Fragmentary tablet.\u2014Destruction of Tower.\u2014Dispersion.\u2014Site of\n the Tower.\u2014Meaning of Babel.\u2014Chedor-laomer.\u2014The destruction of Sodom\n and Gomorrah                                                        155\n\n  CHAPTER XI.\u2014THE IZDUBAR LEGENDS.\n\n Izdubar.\u2014Meaning of the name.\u2014A solar hero.\u2014Prototype of\n Herakles.\u2014Age of Legends.\u2014Babylonian cylinders.\u2014Notices\n of Izdubar.\u2014Surippak.\u2014Ark City.\u2014Twelve tablets.\u2014Extent of\n Legends.\u2014Description.\u2014Introduction.\u2014Meeting of Hea-bani\n and Izdubar.\u2014Destruction of tyrant Khumbaba.\u2014Adventures of\n Istar.\u2014Illness and wanderings of Izdubar.\u2014Description\n of Deluge and conclusion.\u2014First Tablet.\u2014Kingdom of\n Nimrod.\u2014Traditions.\u2014Identifications.\u2014Translation.\u2014Elamite\n Conquest.\u2014Dates                                                     175\n\n  CHAPTER XII.\u2014MEETING OF HEA-BANI AND IZDUBAR.\n\n Dream of Izdubar.\u2014Hea-bani.\u2014His wisdom.\u2014His solitary life.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s\n petition.\u2014Zaidu.\u2014Kharimtu and Samkhat.\u2014Tempt Hea-bani.\u2014Might and fame\n of Izdubar.\u2014Speech of Hea-bani.\u2014His journey to Erech.\u2014The midannu or\n tiger.\u2014Festival at Erech.\u2014Dream of Izdubar.\u2014Friendship with Hea-bani\n                                                                     201\n\n  CHAPTER XIII.\u2014DESTRUCTION OF THE TYRANT KHUMBABA.\n\n Mythical geography.\u2014Forest region.\u2014Khumbaba.\u2014Conversation.\u2014Petition\n to Samas.\u2014Journey to forest.\u2014Dwelling of Khumbaba.\u2014Entrance to\n forest.\u2014Meeting with Khumbaba.\u2014Death of Khumbaba.\u2014Izdubar king      216\n\n  CHAPTER XIV.\u2014THE ADVENTURES OF ISTAR.\n\n Triumph of Izdubar.\u2014Istar\u2019s love.\u2014Her offer of marriage.\u2014Her\n promises.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s answer.\u2014Tammuz.\u2014Amours of Istar.\u2014His\n refusal.\u2014Istar\u2019s anger.\u2014Ascends to Heaven.\u2014The bull.\u2014Slain by\n Izdubar.\u2014Istar\u2019s curse.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s triumph.\u2014The feast.\u2014Istar\u2019s\n despair.\u2014Her descent to Hades.\u2014Description.\u2014The seven gates.\u2014The\n curses.\u2014Atsu-sunamir the Sphinx.\u2014Release of Istar.\u2014The dog of the\n dawn.\u2014Lament for Tammuz                                             226\n\n  CHAPTER XV.\u2014ILLNESS AND WANDERINGS OF IZDUBAR.\n\n Hea-bani and the trees.\u2014Illness of Izdubar.\u2014Death of Hea-bani.\u2014Journey\n of Izdubar.\u2014His dream.\u2014Scorpion men.\u2014The Desert of Mas.\u2014Siduri and\n Sabitu.\u2014Nes-Hea the pilot.\u2014Water of death.\u2014Mua.\u2014The\n conversation.\u2014Xisuthrus                                             252\n\n  CHAPTER XVI.\u2014THE STORY OF THE FLOOD AND CONCLUSION.\n\n Eleventh tablet.\u2014The gods.\u2014Sin of the world.\u2014Command to build\n the ark.\u2014Its contents.\u2014The building.\u2014The Flood.\u2014Destruction\n of people.\u2014Fear of the gods.\u2014End of Deluge.\u2014Nizir.\u2014Resting of\n Ark.\u2014The birds.\u2014The descent from the ark.\u2014The sacrifice, covenant\n and rainbow.\u2014Speeches of gods.\u2014Translation of Adrakhasis.\u2014Cure\n of Izdubar.\u2014His return.\u2014Lament over Hea-bani.\u2014Resurrection of\n Hea-bani.\u2014Burial of warrior.\u2014Age and composition of the Deluge\n tablet.\u2014Comparison with Genesis.\u2014Syrian nation.\u2014Connection of\n legends.\u2014Points of contact.\u2014Duration of deluge.\u2014Mount of descent.\u2014Ten\n generations.\u2014Early cities                                           278\n\n  CHAPTER XVII.\u2014CONCLUSION.\n\n Notices of Genesis.\u2014Correspondence of names.\u2014Abram.\u2014Ur\n of Chaldees.\u2014Ishmael.\u2014Sargon of Agan\u00e9.\u2014His birth.\u2014Concealed\n in ark.\u2014Creation.\u2014Garden of Eden.\u2014Oannes.\u2014Berosus.\u2014Izdubar\n legends.\u2014Babylonian seals.\u2014Egyptian names.\u2014Assyrian sculptures      315\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n Frontispiece, Photograph. Izdubar (Nimrod) in conflict with a lion,\n from an early Babylonian cylinder.\n\n 2. Reverse of inscribed terra cotta tablet, containing the account of\n the Deluge, showing the various fragments of which it is composed, 9.\n\n 3. Oannes and other Babylonian mythological figures, from cylinder, 33.\n\n 4. Composite animals, from cylinder, 35.\n\n 5. Fight between Merodach (Bel) and the dragon, to face p. 62.\n\n 6. Sacred tree or grove, with attendant cherubim, from Assyrian\n cylinder, 85.\n\n 7. Sacred tree, seated figure on each side and serpent in background,\n from an early Babylonian cylinder, 88.\n\n 8. Merodach attacking the serpent, on an Assyrian cylinder, in the\n possession of Dr. S. Wells Williams, Newhaven, 90.\n\n 9. Sacred tree, attendant figures and eagle-headed men, from the seal\n of a Syrian chief, ninth century B.C., 97.\n\n 10. Merodach delivering the moon-god from the evil spirits; from a\n Babylonian cylinder; 101.\n\n 11. Bel encountering the dragon, from Babylonian cylinder, 109.\n\n 12. Merodach or Bel armed for the conflict with the dragon, from\n Assyrian cylinder, 112.\n\n 13. Fight between Bel and the dragon, from Babylonian cylinder, 114.\n\n 14. Eagle-headed men, from Nimroud sculpture, to face p. 102.\n\n 15, 16 and 17. Men engaged in building, from Babylonian cylinders, 162.\n\n 18. View of Birs Nimrud, the supposed site of the Tower of Babel, 167.\n\n 19. View of the Babil mound at Babylon, the site of the temple of Bel,\n 168.\n\n 20. Tower in stages, from an Assyrian bas-relief, 169.\n\n 21. Izdubar strangling a lion, from Khorsabad sculpture, to face p.\n 175.\n\n 22. Migration of Eastern tribe, from early Babylonian cylinder, 197.\n\n 23. Bowareyeh Mound at Warka (Erech), site of the temple of Istar, 248.\n\n 24. Izdubar and Hea-bani in conflict with the lion and bull, 249.\n\n 25. Izdubar among the trees of the Gods (?), from a Babylonian\n cylinder found in Cyprus by Gen. di Cesnola, 263.\n\n 26. Izdubar, composite figures, and Ur-Hea in the boat, from an early\n Babylonian cylinder, 270.\n\n 27. Composite figures (scorpion men), from an Assyrian cylinder, 276.\n\n 28. Xisuthrus, or Noah, and Izdubar, from an early Babylonian\n cylinder, 300.\n\n 29. Mugheir, the site of Ur of the Chaldees, 317.\n\n 30. Oannes, from Nimroud sculpture, to face p. 325.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE DISCOVERY OF THE GENESIS LEGENDS.\n\nCosmogony of Berosus.\u2014Discovery of Cuneiform Inscriptions.\u2014Historical\ntexts.\u2014Babylonian origin of Assyrian literature.\u2014Mythological\ntablets.\u2014Discovery of Deluge texts.\u2014Mutilated condition of\ntablets.\u2014Lecture on Deluge tablets.\u2014\u201cDaily Telegraph\u201d offer.\u2014Expedition\nto Assyria.\u2014Fragments of Creation tablets.\u2014Solar Myth.\u2014Second journey\nto Assyria.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014Clay records.\u2014List of texts.\u2014Legend of\nOannes.\u2014List of early legends and their authors.\n\n\nIt has long been known from the fragments of the Chaldean historian,\nBerosus, preserved in the works of various later writers, that the\nBabylonians were acquainted with traditions referring to the Creation,\nthe period before the Flood, the Deluge, and other matters of which we\nread in the book of Genesis.\n\nBerosus, however, who recorded these events, is stated by Eusebius\nand Tatian to have been a contemporary of Alexander the Great, and\nto have lived into the reign of Antiochus Soter. His date lies,\ntherefore, between B.C. 330 and 260. As this was three hundred years\nafter the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the great antiquity of\nthese traditions could not be proved with certainty, much less their\nindependence of the accounts which we have in Genesis.\n\nOn the discovery and decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions,\nOriental scholars hoped that copies of the Babylonian histories\nand traditions would one day be found, and that earlier and more\nsatisfactory evidence as to these primitive histories than had\npreviously been accessible, would thus be gained.\n\nIn the mound of Kouyunjik, opposite the town of Mosul, Mr. Layard\ndiscovered part of the Royal Assyrian library, and further collections,\nalso forming part of this library, have been subsequently found by Mr.\nH. Rassam, Mr. Loftus, and Mr. George Smith. Sir Henry Rawlinson, who\nmade the preliminary examination of Mr. Layard\u2019s treasures, and was\nthe first to recognize their value, estimated the number of fragments\nbrought from this Library at over twenty thousand.\n\nThe attention of decipherers was in the first instance drawn to the\nlater historical inscriptions, particularly to those of the Assyrian\nkings contemporary with the Hebrew monarchy; and in this department\nof research a very large number of texts of great importance rewarded\nthe toil of Assyrian scholars. Inscriptions of Tiglath Pileser,\nShalmaneser, Sargon, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Nebuchadnezzar,\nNabonidus, and numerous other ancient sovereigns, bearing directly\non the Bible, and throwing new light upon parts of ancient history\npreviously obscure, for a long time occupied almost exclusively the\nattention of students, and overshadowed any work in other divisions of\nAssyrian literature.\n\nAlthough it was known that Assyria borrowed its civilization and\nwritten characters from Babylonia, yet, as the Assyrian nation was\nthroughout the greater part of its independent existence hostile to the\nsouthern and older kingdom, it could not be guessed beforehand that the\npeculiar national traditions of Babylonia would have been transported\nto Assyria.\n\nUnder these circumstances, for some years after the cuneiform\ninscriptions were first deciphered, nothing was looked for or\ndiscovered bearing upon the events described in Genesis; but, as\nnew texts were brought into notice, it became evident that the\nAssyrians borrowed their literature largely from Babylonian sources,\nand it appeared likely that search among the fragments of Assyrian\ninscriptions would yield traces at least of some of these ancient\nBabylonian legends.\n\nAttention was early drawn to this fact by Sir Henry Rawlinson, who\npointed out several coincidences between the geography of Babylonia and\nthe account of Eden in Genesis, and suggested the great probability\nthat the accounts in Genesis had a Babylonian origin.\n\nWhile preparing the fourth volume of Cuneiform Inscriptions for the\ntrustees of the British Museum, Mr. George Smith noticed references to\nthe Creation in a tablet numbered K 63 in the Museum collection, as\nwell as allusions in other tablets to similar legends; he therefore\nsearched through a series of tablets he had previously classed as\n\u201cMythological,\u201d in order to find, if possible, some of these legends.\nThis series of mythological tablets was one of six into which he had\ndivided the Museum collection of cuneiform inscriptions for convenience\nof working. By placing all the tablets and fragments of the same class\ntogether, he had been able to complete several texts, to find easily\nany subject required, and to get, whenever it was needed, a general\nidea of the contents of the collection.\n\nThe mythological division contained all the tablets which related\nto Assyrian mythology, and all the legends in which the gods took a\nleading part, together with prayers and similar subjects.\n\nA steady search among these fragments soon brought to light half of a\ncurious tablet which had evidently contained originally six columns of\ntext; two of these (the third and fourth) were still nearly perfect;\ntwo others (the second and fifth) were imperfect, about half being\nlost, while the remaining columns (the first and sixth) were entirely\ngone. A statement in the third column that \u201cthe ship\u201d had rested on\nthe mountain of Nizir, followed by an account of the sending forth\nof a dove, and its finding no resting-place and returning, convinced\nMr. Smith that he had discovered a portion at least of the Chaldean\naccount of the Deluge. He then proceeded to read through the document,\nand found it was in the form of a speech from the hero of the Deluge\nto a person whose name might be transcribed as Izdubar. The same name\nhad already been read on the fragment of another tablet numbered K\n231, which turned out to belong to the same series of tablets as the\nnewly-found account of the Deluge. Mr. Smith was thus encouraged to\nmake a search for other portions of the series.\n\nThe search was a long and heavy work, for there were thousands of\nfragments to be examined, and these were so small, and contained so\nlittle of the text, that it was extremely difficult to ascertain their\nmeaning. The search, however, proved successful. A fragment of another\ncopy of the Deluge was found containing a second account of the sending\nforth of the birds. Several other portions of the same tablet were\ngradually collected and fitted one after another into their places\nuntil the greater part of the second column was filled up. Portions\nof a third copy were next discovered, which, when joined together,\ncompleted a considerable part of the first and sixth columns. Mr.\nSmith now translated the text he had so laboriously pieced together,\nand published his discovery to the world at a meeting of the Society\nof Biblical Arch\u00e6ology, December 3rd, 1872. By this time he had made\nout that the series of Izdubar legends, as we may term them, contained\ntwelve tablets or books. Of this series the tablet describing the\nDeluge was the eleventh and K 231 the sixth.\n\nThe interest excited by Mr. Smith\u2019s discovery was naturally very\ngreat. Immediately after the meeting of the Society of Biblical\nArch\u00e6ology, Mr. E. Arnold, in the name of the proprietors of the\n\u201cDaily Telegraph,\u201d asked the fortunate discoverer to reopen, at their\ncost, the excavations in Assyria in the hope of finding the missing\nportions of the story of the Deluge. The trustees of the British\nMuseum granted Mr. Smith leave of absence for the purpose, and he\naccordingly started for the ruins of Nineveh, and there engaged in\nresearches, the history of which is related in his work entitled\n\u201cAssyrian Discoveries.\u201d Hardly had he begun his excavations on the site\nof the palace of Assur-bani-pal at Kouyunjik, when he came across a new\nfragment of the Chaldean account of the Deluge belonging to the first\ncolumn of the tablet, containing the command to build and fill the\nark, and nearly filling up the most considerable blank in the story.\nSome other fragments, found afterwards, still further completed this\ntablet, which was already the most perfect one in the Izdubar series.\nThe trench in which the fragment in question was discovered must\nhave passed very near the part of the Library in which the Assyrians\nkept a series of inscriptions relating to the early history of the\nworld. The same trench soon afterwards yielded a fragment of the sixth\ntablet, describing the destruction of the bull of Istar by Izdubar and\nHea-bani, an incident often depicted on early Babylonian gems. The next\ndiscovery was a fragment which referred to the creation of the world;\nit formed the upper corner of a tablet, and gave a fragmentary account\nof the creation of animals. Two other portions of this legend were\nfound further on in the trench, one of which contained a mutilated\naccount of the war between the gods and evil spirits.\n\nIn the following year Mr. Smith was again in Assyria, in charge of\nan expedition sent out by the trustees of the British Museum, and\nsucceeded in bringing home fresh fragments relating to the early\ntraditions and legends of Babylonia. Among these is the fragment which\nseems to describe the building of the Tower of Babel. Then followed\nthe disastrous expedition of 1875-6, in the course of which Mr. Smith\nfell a victim to over-fatigue and his zeal for Assyrian research. The\nsubsequent explorations of Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, though rich in other\nresults, have added very little to our knowledge of the old Babylonian\nlegends; and it seems probable that the missing portions of the tablets\nwhich contained them have irretrievably perished. We must wait for\nfurther light upon the subject until the cities and libraries of\nBabylonia have been excavated. After all, the early Babylonian legends,\nof which copies were made for the Assyrian Library at Kouyunjik, were\nbut a selected few; the Assyrians took little interest in that part of\nBabylonian literature which had no connection with their own history or\nbeliefs, and we have reason to congratulate ourselves that among the\ntraditions they borrowed from their older and more civilized neighbours\nwere so many which bear upon the earlier chapters of Genesis.\n\nThe fragmentary condition of the legends we possess, however, is much\nto be lamented. The chief difficulties with which the Assyrian scholar\nhas to contend, when dealing with them, are due to the mutilated state\nof the tablets. If the inscriptions were perfect, their translation\nwould be a comparatively easy matter. As it is, so skilled a decipherer\nas Mr. Smith himself was deceived by the defective character of the\ntext into imagining that a hymn addressed to the Creator was the\nBabylonian version of the Fall of Man.\n\nThe fragmentary and scattered character of these legends is explained\nby the nature of the material of which the tablets are composed, and\nthe changes undergone by them since they were written. They consist of\nfine clay and were inscribed with cuneiform characters while in a soft\nstate; they were then baked in a furnace until hard, and afterwards\ntransferred to the library. The library seems to have been in an upper\nstorey of the palace, and after the destruction of Nineveh, the fall\nof the building in which it was placed naturally caused the tablets\ncontained in it to be broken to pieces. Many of them were cracked and\nscorched by the heat of the burning ruins. Subsequently the ruins\nwere turned over in search of treasure, and the tablets still further\nbroken; while, to complete their destruction, the rain, soaking\nthrough the ground every spring, saturates them with water containing\nchemicals, and these chemicals form crystals in every available crack.\nThe growth of the crystals further splits the tablets, some of them\nbeing literally shivered to pieces.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n REVERSE OF INSCRIBED TERRA COTTA TABLET CONTAINING THE ACCOUNT OF THE\n DELUGE, SHOWING THE VARIOUS FRAGMENTS OF WHICH IT WAS COMPOSED AT THE\n TIME OF MR. SMITH\u2019S TRANSLATION.]\n\nSome idea of the mutilated condition of the Assyrian tablets, and of\nthe work required by the restoration of a single text, will be gained\nfrom the engraving above, which exhibits the appearance of one of the\nDeluge tablets at the time Mr. Smith published his translation of it.\nIn this tablet there are no less than sixteen fragments.\n\nThe clay records of the Assyrians are by these means so broken up,\nthat a single text is in some cases divided into over one hundred\nfragments; and it is only by collecting and joining these together that\nthe old texts can be restored. Many of the fragmentary tablets which\nhave been more than twenty years in the British Museum have been added\nto considerably by the fragments recently brought to England by Mr.\nSmith and Mr. Rassam; and yet there probably remain from ten to twenty\nthousand fragments still buried in the ruins, without the recovery of\nwhich it is impossible to complete these valuable Assyrian inscriptions.\n\nIt is, nevertheless, out of these imperfect materials that we have\nat present to piece together our knowledge of the early legends of\nBabylonia and Assyria. Most, if not all, of them, are, it must be\nremembered, of Chaldean or Babylonian origin, the Assyrians having\neither slavishly copied Babylonian originals or simply put into a new\nform the story they had borrowed from their southern neighbours. Such\nas they are, however, they are presented to the reader as faithfully\ntranslated as our existing knowledge of the Assyrian language allows;\nit is for him to draw his inferences and make his comparisons. The\ngreater number of them, as we shall see, mount back to a date earlier\nthan the second millennium before the Christian era, and even where the\nactual text belongs to a later period, the legend which it embodies\nclaims a similar antiquity. We may classify them in the following\norder:\u2014\n\n1. An account of the Creation of the world in six days, parallel to\nthat in the first chapter of Genesis, and probably in its present form\nnot older than the 7th century B.C.\n\n2. A second account of the Creation, derived from the Library of\nCuthah, and belonging to the oldest period of Babylonian literature.\n\n3. A history of the conflict between Merodach, the champion of the\ngods, and Tiamat, \u201cthe Deep,\u201d the representative of chaos and evil.\nTo this we may add the bilingual legend of the seven evil spirits and\ntheir fight against the moon.\n\n4. The story of the descent of the goddess Istar or Venus into Hades,\nand her return.\n\n5. The legend of the sin of the god Zu, punished by Bel, the father of\nthe gods.\n\n6. A collection of five tablets giving the exploits of Dibbara the god\nof the pestilence.\n\n7. The story of the wise man who put forth a riddle to the gods.\n\n8. The legend of the good man Atarpi, and the wickedness of the world.\n\n9. The legend of the tower of Babel, and dispersion.\n\n10. The story of the Eagle and Etana.\n\n11. The story of the ox and the horse.\n\n12. The story of the fox.\n\n13. The legend of Sinuri.\n\n14. The Izdubar legends: twelve tablets, with the history of Izdubar,\nand an account of the flood.\n\n15. The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Besides these\nthere are fragments of other legends, which show that there was a\nconsiderable collection of such primitive stories still quite unknown\nto us. In fact we have little chance of becoming acquainted with them\nuntil the libraries of Babylonia are excavated. Thus for example we\nlearn from Berosus that the Babylonians ascribed their civilization to\ncertain wonderful creatures who ascended out of the Persian Gulf, and\nmore especially to a being called Oannes. But of all this the library\nof Nineveh tells us nothing, although an Accadian Reading-book compiled\nfor Assyrian students contains an excerpt which seems to be taken from\nthe legend of Oannes. It is as follows:\u2014\n\n  1. To the waters their god\n  2. had returned.\n  3. To the glistening house\n  4. he descended (as) an icicle.\n  5. (On) a seat of snow\n  6. he grew not old in wisdom.\n  7. The wise people\n  8. with his wisdom he filled.\n\nTwo fragments, belonging to two editions of the same text, have just\nbeen found, containing a list of the numerous legends and epics current\namong the ancient Babylonians, along with the names of their authors.\nAmong them are found several of which translations are given further\non in this volume; but there are also several of which we hear for the\nfirst time. The great Izdubar Epic, it may be noted, is ascribed to\na certain Sin-lici-unnini (\u201cO Moon-god, receive my cry!\u201d). A fuller\naccount of the fragments and their contents will be found in the\nIntroduction.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nBABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN LITERATURE.\n\n Babylonian literature.\u2014Kouyunjik library.\u2014Fragmentary\n condition.\u2014Arrangement of tablets.\u2014Subjects.\u2014Dates.\u2014Babylonian\n source of literature.\u2014Literary period.\u2014Babylonian\n Chronology.\u2014Accad.\u2014Sumir.\u2014Extinction of the Accadian\n language.\u2014Izdubar legends.\u2014Creation.\u2014Syllabaries and bilingual\n tablets.\u2014Assyrian copies.\u2014Difficulties as to date.\u2014Library of\n Senkereh.\u2014Assyrian empire.\u2014City of Assur.\u2014Library at Calah.\u2014Sargon of\n Assyria.\u2014Sennacherib.\u2014Removal of Library to Nineveh.\u2014Assur-bani-pal or\n Sardanapalus.\u2014His additions to library.\u2014Description of contents.\u2014Later\n Babylonian libraries.\n\n\nIn order to understand the position to which we must assign the\nlegends of early Chaldea, it is necessary to give some account of\nthe literature of the Ancient Babylonians and their copyists, the\nAssyrians. As has been already stated, the fragments of burnt brick\non which these legends are inscribed were found in the d\u00e9bris which\ncovers the palaces called the South West Palace and the North Palace\nat Kouyunjik; the former building being of the age of Sennacherib, the\nlatter belonging to the time of Assur-bani-pal. The tablets, which are\nof all sizes, from one inch long to over a foot square, are generally\nin fragments, and in consequence of the changes which have taken place\nin the ruins the fragments of the same tablet are sometimes scattered\nwidely apart. They were originally deposited, it would seem, in one\nof the upper chambers of the palace, from which they fell on the\ndestruction of the building. In some of the lower chambers the whole\nfloor has been found covered with them, in other cases they lay in\ngroups or patches on the pavement, and there are occasional clusters\nof fragments at various heights in the earth which covers the ruins.\nOther fragments are scattered singly through all the upper earth which\ncovers the floors and walls of the palace. Different fragments of the\nsame tablet or cylinder are found in separate chambers which have\nno immediate connection with each other, showing that their present\ndistribution has nothing to do with the original position of the\ntablets of which they formed part.\n\nThe inscriptions show that the tablets were arranged according to their\nsubjects. Stories or subjects were continued on other tablets of the\nsame size and form as those on which they were commenced, in some cases\nthe number of tablets in a series and on a single subject amounting to\nover one hundred.\n\nEach subject or series of tablets had a title, the title consisting\nof the first phrase or part of a phrase in it. Thus, the series of\nAstrological tablets, numbering over seventy tablets, bore the title\n\u201cWhen the gods Anu (and) Bel,\u201d this being the commencement of the first\ntablet. At the end of every tablet in each series was written its\nnumber in the work, thus: \u201cthe first tablet of When the gods Anu, Bel,\u201d\n\u201cthe second tablet of When the gods Anu, Bel,\u201d &c. &c.; and, further\nto preserve the proper position of each tablet, every one except the\nlast in a series had at the end a catch phrase, consisting of the first\nline of the following tablet. There were besides, catalogues of these\ndocuments written like them on clay tablets, and other small oval\ntablets with titles upon them, apparently labels for the various series\nof works. All these arrangements show the care taken with respect to\nliterary matters. There were regular libraries or chambers, probably\non the upper floors of the palaces, appointed for the reception of the\ntablets, and custodians or librarians to take charge of them. These\nregulations were all of great antiquity, and like the tablets had a\nBabylonian origin.\n\nJudging from the fragments discovered, it appears probable that there\nwere in the Royal Library at Nineveh over 10,000 inscribed tablets,\ntreating of almost every branch of knowledge existing at the time.\n\nIn considering a subject like the present one it is a point of the\nutmost importance to define as closely as possible the date of our\npresent copies of the legends, and the most probable period at which\nthe original copies may have been inscribed. By far the greatest\nnumber of the tablets brought from Nineveh belong to the age of\nAssur-bani-pal, who reigned over Assyria from B.C. 670, and every copy\nof what we will term the Genesis legends yet found was inscribed with\none exception during his reign. The statements made on the tablets\nthemselves are conclusive on this point, and have not been called in\nquestion, but it is equally stated and acknowledged on all hands that\nmost of these tablets are not the originals, but are only copies from\nearlier texts. It is unfortunate that the date of the original copies\nis never preserved, and thus a wide door is thrown open for difference\nof opinion on the point. The Assyrians acknowledged that this class\nof literature was borrowed from Babylonian sources, and of course it\nis to Babylonia that we have to look to ascertain the approximate\ndates of the original documents. But here we are met by the following\ndifficulty. It appears that at an early period in Babylonian history a\ngreat literary development took place, and numerous works were produced\nwhich embodied the prevailing myths, religion, and science of the day.\nWritten many of them in a noble style of poetry, and appealing to\nthe strongest feelings of the people on one side, or registering the\nhighest efforts of their science on the other, these texts became the\nstandards of Babylonian literature, and later generations were content\nto copy them instead of composing new works for themselves. Clay, the\nmaterial on which they were written, was everywhere abundant, copies\nwere multiplied, and the veneration in which the texts were held fixed\nand stereotyped their style. Even the language in which they were\nwritten remained the language of literature up to the period of the\nPersian conquest. Thus it happens that texts of Rim-agu, Sargon, and\nKhammuragas, who lived at least a thousand years before Nebuchadnezzar\nand Nabonidus, are composed in the same language as the texts of these\nlater kings, there being no sensible difference in style to match the\nlong interval between them.\n\nWe have, however, clear proof that, although the language of devotion\nand literature remained fixed, the speech of the bulk of the people\nwas gradually modified; and in the time of Assur-bani-pal, when the\ntexts of the Genesis legends which we possess were copied by Assyrian\nscribes, the common speech of the day was widely different from that of\nliterature. The private letters and despatches of this age which have\nbeen discovered differ considerably in language from the contemporary\npublic documents and religious writings, showing the change the\nlanguage had undergone since the style of the latter had been fixed.\nSo, too, in our own country the language of devotion and the style\nof the Bible differ in several respects from those of the English of\nto-day.\n\nThese considerations show the difficulty of fixing the age of a\ncuneiform document from its style, and the difficulty is further\nincreased by the uncertainty which hangs over all Babylonian\nchronology\u2014an uncertainty that can be cleared away only when the\nruined cities of Babylonia are excavated.\n\nChronology is always a thorny subject, and dry and unsatisfactory to\nmost persons besides; some notice must, however, be taken of it here,\nin order to fix something like an approximate date or epoch for the\noriginal composition of the Genesis legends.\n\nThe so-called Assyrian Canon affords us an exact chronology up to the\nyear B.C. 909, and a series of contemporaneous monuments, together with\none or two chronological allusions in later inscriptions, enables us\nto work back from this date to a period falling between B.C. 1450 and\n1400 when Assyria was brought into close relation with the southern\nkingdom of Babylonia. Babylonia was at the time under the sway of a\nforeign dynasty of Koss\u00e6an princes from the mountains of Elam, which\nwas overthrown, as we learn from the Assyrian records, about B.C.\n1270. It had been in possession of the country for a considerable\ntime, since a fragmentary list which gives the names of the first nine\nsovereigns composing it does not come down to the time when the first\nof the princes who came into close contact with Assyria was reigning.\nIndeed, a considerable interval must be allowed between the latter\nperiod and the last of the nine kings mentioned in the list, in which\nto insert the isolated names of more than one monarch of the dynasty\nincidentally mentioned on later monuments. Supposing that not more than\nfifteen kings preceded Cara-indas in B.C. 1450, and that the average\nlength of their reigns was twenty years, we should have B.C. 1750 as\nthe approximate date of the leader of the dynasty. He could not have\nbeen later than this, and there are many reasons which would lead us to\nsuppose that he was earlier.\n\nKhammuragas was the leader of the dynasty in question. He had conquered\nthe rulers of the two kingdoms into which Babylonia was at this time\ndivided. One of these was a queen, with whom ended a dynasty, famous in\nthe annals of early Babylonia, whose seat was at Agan\u00e9 or Agad\u00e9, near\nSepharvaim. She had been the successor of Naram-Sin, the son of Sargon,\nwho, like his father, had extended his power far and wide, and had even\npenetrated as far as the shores of the Mediterranean. Sargon had been\na great patron of learning as well as a conqueror; he had established\na famous library at Agan\u00e9, and had caused a work on astronomy and\nastrology to be compiled, which remained the standard authority on\nthe subject up to the end of the Assyrian Empire. It was entitled,\n\u201cThe Illumination of Bel,\u201d and was in seventy-two books. Berosus, the\nhistorian, seems to have translated it into Greek.\n\nLike the Babylonians and Assyrians of a later day, Sargon and his\nsubjects belonged to the Semitic stock, and were therefore related\nto the Hebrews and the Arabians. But they were really intruders in\nChaldea. The primitive inhabitants of the country, the builders of\nits cities, the inventors of the cuneiform system of writing, and\nthe founders of the culture and civilization which was afterwards\nborrowed by the Semites, were of a wholly different race. They spoke\nan agglutinative language of the same character as that of the modern\nTurks or Finns, and were originally divided into two sections\u2014the\ninhabitants of Sumir or Shinar, the plain country, and the Accadians\nor \u201cHighlanders,\u201d who had descended from the mountains of Elam\nsubsequently to the first settlement of their kinsfolk in Shinar. At\nsome date between B.C. 3000 and 2000, the Semitic population which\nbordered upon Babylonia on the west, and had long been settled in some\nof its western cities, such as Ur (now Mugheir), conquered Shinar or\nSumir. The Accadians, however, maintained their independence for a\nconsiderable time after this conquest, until, finally, Accad also was\nreduced under the sway of the Semitic kings. The old population of\nthe country was gradually absorbed, and its language became extinct.\nThe extinction of the Accadian or Sumerian language had already taken\nplace\u2014at all events among the educated classes\u2014at the time that Sargon\nfounded his library at Agan\u00e9, and one of the chief reasons which led\nto the compilation of the great work on astronomy, was the necessity\nof preserving the astronomical and astrological observations recorded\nin a language which was beginning to be forgotten. At the same time\nSemitic translations of other portions of the old Accadian literature\nwere made. The library at Agan\u00e9, however, was not the only place where\nthe work of translation went on; many other libraries existed, and\ntheir scribes and readers had alike become Semites, who required works\nwritten in their own tongue. The Semitic translations of Accadian works\nwhich were made for the library of Erech, one of the earliest seats of\nSemitic power, must have been considerably older than those made for\nthe library of Sargon.\n\nThe extinction of the Accadian language and the translation of Accadian\nworks into Semitic Babylonian are important facts for settling the\nchronology of a document or inscription. Wherever we can show that a\nBabylonian or Assyrian text is translated from an Accadian original,\nor wherever we have a copy of that original itself, we may feel pretty\nsure that we are dealing with something older than the eighteenth\ncentury before the Christian era.\n\nMr. Smith believed that the \u201cExploits of the God Dibbara\u201d was one\nof the oldest of the mythological texts which have come down to us,\nthough he admitted that the mention of Assyria in it was in favour of a\nsomewhat later date.\n\nIt notices a large number of peoples or states, the principal being the\npeople of the coast, Subartu or Syria, Assyria, Elam, the Kassi, the\nSutu, Goim, Lullubu, and Accad.\n\nThe Izdubar legends, containing the story of the Flood, and possibly\nalso the history of Nimrod, were probably written in the south of\nthe country, and at least as early as B.C. 2000. These legends were,\nhowever, traditions before they were committed to writing, and were\ncommon in some form to the whole of Chaldea.\n\nThe account of the Creation in days, though probably of late Assyrian\norigin in its present form, may nevertheless rest on older traditions.\nAt present, however, it is not possible to assign to it any great\nantiquity.\n\nIt should, of course, be remembered, that the texts we possess at\npresent are written in Semitic Babylonian or Assyrian\u2014Babylonian and\nAssyrian being but slightly varying dialects of the same language. They\nare, however, mostly translations of earlier Accadian documents, and\nbelong to the same period as that which witnessed the foundation of the\nlibrary of Agan\u00e9. We shall not be far wrong, therefore, in dating them\nin their present form about B.C. 2000. The translations then made were\ncopied by successive generations of librarians and scribes, the latest\ncopies of which we know being those that have been brought from the\nlibrary of Kouyunjik.\n\nTo the same early period belonged various other literary compositions,\namong which we may particularize a long work on terrestrial omens,\ncompiled for Sargon of Agan\u00e9, as well as the syllabaries, grammars,\nphrase-books and vocabularies, and other bilingual tablets by means\nof which a knowledge of the old language of Accad was conveyed to the\nBabylonian or Assyrian scholar.\n\nOn the other hand, a series of tablets on evil spirits, which contained\na totally different tradition of the Creation from that in days, goes\nback to the Accadian epoch; and there is a third account from the City\nof Cutha, closely agreeing in some respects with the account handed\ndown by Berosus, which must be placed about the same date.\n\nIn spite of the indications as to peculiarities of worship, names of\nstates and capitals, historical allusions and other evidence, it may\nseem hazardous to many persons to fix the dates of original documents\nso high, when our only copies in many cases are Assyrian transcripts\nmade in the reign of Assur-bani-pal, in the seventh century B.C.; but\none or two considerations may show that this is a perfectly reasonable\nview, and no other likely period can be found for the original\ncomposition of the documents unless we ascend to a greater antiquity.\nIn the first place, it must be noticed that the Assyrians themselves\nstate that the documents were copied from ancient Babylonian copies,\nand in some cases state that the old copies were partly illegible even\nin their day. Again, in more than one case there is actual proof of the\nantiquity of a text. We may refer, for example, to a text an Assyrian\ncopy of part of which is published in \u201cCuneiform Inscriptions,\u201d vol.\nii. plate 54, Nos. 3 & 4. In a collection of tablets discovered by Mr.\nLoftus at Senkereh, belonging, according to the kings mentioned in it,\nto about B.C. 1600, is part of an ancient Babylonian copy of this very\ntext, the Babylonian copy being about one thousand years older than the\nAssyrian one.\n\nSimilarly a fragment of a Babylonian transcript of the Deluge tablet\nhas recently been brought from Babylonia, and serves not only to fill\nup some of the breaks in our Assyrian copies, but also to verify the\ntext of the latter.\n\nIt is unfortunate that so many of the documents embodying the Genesis\ntraditions are in such a sadly mutilated condition, but there can be\nno doubt that future explorations will reveal more perfect copies, and\nnumerous companion and explanatory texts, which will one day clear up\nthe difficulties which now meet us at every step of our examination of\nthem.\n\nSo far as known contemporary inscriptions are concerned, we cannot\nconsider our present researches and discoveries as anything like\nsufficient to give a fair view of the literature of Assyria and\nBabylonia; and however numerous and important the Genesis legends\nmay be, they form but a small portion of the whole literature of the\ncountry.\n\nIt is generally considered that the earliest inscriptions of any\nimportance which we now possess belong to the time of Lig-Bagas, king\nof Ur, who first united under his sway the petty kingdoms into which\nChaldea was previously split up, and whose age is generally assigned to\nabout three thousand years before the Christian era.\n\nThe principal inscriptions of this period consist of texts on bricks\nand on signet cylinders, and some of the latter may be of much greater\nantiquity. Passing down to a time when the country was again divided\ninto the kingdoms of Karrak, Larsa, and Agan\u00e9, we find a great\naccession of literary material, almost every class of writing being\nrepresented by contemporary specimens. Each of the principal cities had\nits library, and education seems to have been widely diffused. From\nSenkereh, the ancient Larsa, and its neighbourhood have come our oldest\nspecimens of these literary tablets, the following being some of the\ncontents of this earliest known library:\u2014\n\n1. Mythological tablets, including lists of the gods, and their\nmanifestations and titles.\n\n2. Grammatical works, lists of words, and explanations.\n\n3. Mathematical works, calculations, tables of cube and square roots,\nand tables of measures.\n\n4. Works on astronomy, astrology, and omens.\n\n5. Legends and short historical inscriptions.\n\n6. Historical cylinders, one of Kudur-mabuk, B.C. 1800 (?) (the\nearliest known cylinder), being in the British Museum.\n\n7. Geographical tablets, and lists of towns and countries.\n\n8. Tablets containing laws and law cases, records of sale and barter,\nwills and loans.\n\nSuch are the inscriptions a single library of Babylonia has produced,\nand beside these there are numerous texts, only known to us through\nlater copies, but which certainly had their origin as early as this\nperiod.\n\nPassing down from this period, for some centuries we find only detached\ninscriptions, accompanied by evidence of the gradual shifting of both\npolitical power and literary activity from Babylonia to Assyria.\n\nIn Assyria the first centre of literature and seat of a library was\nthe city of Assur (Kileh Shergat), and the earliest known tablets date\nabout B.C. 1500.\n\nBeyond the scanty records of a few monarchs nothing of value remains\nof this library, and the literary works contained in it are only known\nfrom later copies.\n\nA revival of the Assyrian empire began under Assur-natsir-pal, king\nof Assyria, who ascended the throne B.C. 885. He rebuilt the city\nof Calah (Nimroud), and this city became the seat of an Assyrian\nlibrary. Tablets were procured from Babylonia by Shalmaneser, son of\nAssur-natsir-pal, B.C. 860, during the reign of Nabu-bal-idina, king\nof Babylon, and these were copied by the Assyrian scribes, and placed\nin the royal library. Rimmon-nirari, grandson of Shalmaneser, B.C.\n812, added to the Calah library, and had tablets written at Nineveh.\nAssur-nirari, B.C. 755, continued the literary work, some mythological\ntablets being dated in his reign.\n\nTiglath Pileser, B.C. 745, enlarged the library, and placed in it\nvarious copies of historical inscriptions. It was, however, reserved\nfor Sargon, who founded the last Assyrian dynasty, B.C. 721, to make\nthe Assyrian royal library worthy of the empire. Early in his reign he\nappointed Nabu-zuqub-cinu principal librarian, and this officer set to\nwork to make new copies of all the standard works of the day. During\nthe whole of his term of office copies of the great literary works were\nproduced, the majority of the texts preserved belonging to the early\nperiod previous to Khammuragas.\n\nWith the accession of Sargon came a revival of literature in Assyria;\neducation became more general, ancient texts were brought from\nBabylonia to be copied, and the antiquarian study of early literature\nbecame fashionable.\n\nSennacherib, son of Sargon, B.C. 704, continued to add to his father\u2019s\nlibrary at Calah, but late in his reign he removed the collection\nfrom that city to Nineveh (Kouyunjik), where from this time forth the\nnational library remained until the fall of the empire.\n\nEsarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, B.C. 681, further increased the\nnational collection, most of the works he added being of a religious\ncharacter.\n\nAssur-bani-pal, son of Esarhaddon, the Sardanapalus of the Greeks, B.C.\n670, was the greatest of the Assyrian sovereigns, and he is far more\nmemorable on account of his magnificent patronage of learning than on\naccount of the greatness of his empire or the extent of his wars.\n\nAssur-bani-pal added more to the Assyrian royal library than all the\nkings who had gone before him, and it is to tablets written in his\nreign that we owe almost all our knowledge of the Babylonian myths and\nearly history, beside many other important matters.\n\nThe agents of Assur-bani-pal sought everywhere for inscribed tablets,\nbrought them to Nineveh, and copied them there; thus the literary\ntreasures of Babylon, Borsippa, Cutha, Agan\u00e9, Ur, Erech, Larsa, Nipur,\nand various other cities were transferred to the Assyrian capital to\nenrich the great collection there.\n\nThe fragments brought over to Europe give us a good idea of this\nlibrary and show the range of the subjects embraced by its collection\nof works. Among the different classes of texts, the Genesis stories\nand similar legends occupied a prominent place; these, as they will be\nfurther described in the present volume, need only be mentioned here.\nAccompanying them we have a series of mythological tablets of various\nsorts, varying from legends of the gods, psalms, songs, prayers, and\nhymns, down to mere allusions and lists of names. Many of these texts\ntake the form of charms to be used in sickness and for the expulsion of\nevil spirits; some of them are of great antiquity, being older than the\nIzdubar legends. One fine series deals with remedies against witchcraft\nand the assaults of evil spirits. Izdubar is mentioned in one of these\ntablets as lord of the oaths or pledges of the world.\n\nSome of the prayers were for use on special occasions, such as on\nstarting on a campaign, on the occurrence of an eclipse, &c. Astronomy\nand astrology were represented by various detached inscriptions\nand reports, but principally by the great work of which mention has\nalready been made, and many copies of which were in the Library of\nAssur-bani-pal.\n\nAmong the Astrological tablets is a fragment which professes to be\ncopied from an original of the time of Izdubar.\n\nHistorical texts formed another section of the library, and these\nincluded numerous copies of inscriptions of early Babylonian kings;\nthere were besides, chronological tablets with lists of kings and\nannual officers, inscriptions of various Assyrian monarchs, histories\nof the relations between Assyria and Babylonia, Elam, and Arabia,\ntreaties, despatches, proclamations, and reports on the state of the\nempire and military affairs.\n\nNatural history was represented by bilingual lists of mammals, birds,\nreptiles, fishes, insects, and plants, trees, grasses, reeds, and\ngrains, earths, stones, &c. These lists are classified according to\nthe supposed nature and affinities of the various species, and show\nconsiderable advance in the sciences. Mathematics had a place in the\nlibrary, there being tables of problems, figures, and calculations; but\nthis branch of learning was not studied so fully as in Babylonia.\n\nGrammar and Lexicography were better represented, since there were\nmany works on these subjects, including lists of the characters, the\ndeclension of the noun, the conjugation of the verb, examples of\nsyntactical construction, reading-books, interlinear translations\nof Accadian texts, and the like. All these tablets were copied from\nBabylonian originals. In legal and civil literature the library was\nalso rich, and the tablets serve to show that the same laws and customs\nprevailed in Assyria as in Babylonia. There are codes of laws, law\ncases, records of sale, barter, and loans, lists of property, lists of\ntitles and trades, of tribute and taxes, &c.\n\nIn Geography the Assyrians were not very advanced; but there are lists\nof countries and their productions, of cities, rivers, mountains, and\npeoples.\n\nSuch are some of the principal contents of the great library from which\nwe have obtained our copies of the Creation and Flood legends. Most of\nthe tablets were copied from early Babylonian ones which have in most\ncases disappeared; but the copies are sufficient to show the wonderful\nprogress in culture and civilization already made by the people of\nChaldea long before the age of Moses or even Abraham. Babylonian\nliterature, which had been the parent of Assyrian writing, revived\nafter the fall of Nineveh, and Nebuchadnezzar and his successors made\nBabylon the seat of a library rivalling that of Assur-bani-pal at\nNineveh. Of this later development of Babylonian literature we know\nvery little, explorations being still required to bring to light its\ntexts. A few fragments only, discovered by wandering Arabs or recovered\nby chance travellers, have as yet turned up, but there is in them\nevidence enough to promise a rich reward to future excavators.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nCHALDEAN LEGENDS TRANSMITTED THROUGH BEROSUS AND OTHER ANCIENT AUTHORS.\n\n Berosus and his copyists.\u2014Cory\u2019s translation.\u2014Alexander\n Polyhistor.\u2014Babylonia.\u2014Oannes, his teaching.\u2014Creation.\u2014Belus.\u2014Chaldean\n kings.\u2014Xisuthrus.\u2014Deluge.\u2014The Ark.\u2014Return to\n Babylon.\u2014Apollodorus.\u2014Pantibiblon.\u2014Larancha.\u2014Abydenus.\u2014Alorus,\n first king.\u2014Ten kings.\u2014Sisithrus.\u2014Deluge.\u2014Armenia.\u2014Tower of\n Babel.\u2014Kronos and Titan.\u2014Dispersion from Hesti\u00e6us.\u2014Babylonian\n colonies.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014The Sibyl.\u2014Titan and\n Prometheus.\u2014Damascius.\u2014Tauthe.\u2014Moymis.\u2014Kissare and Assorus.\u2014Triad.\u2014Bel.\n\n\nBy way of introduction to the native versions of the early legends\nleft us by the Babylonians, it is advisable to glance at the principal\nfragments bearing on them which are found in the classical writers\nof Greece and Rome. Several others might have been quoted, but their\norigin is doubtful, and they are of less importance for the subject\nin hand. Those who wish to consult them may turn to Cory\u2019s \u201cAncient\nFragments\u201d (2nd edition, 1876), whose translations, as being fairly\nscholarlike and correct, are here given without alteration.\n\nBerosus, from whom the principal extracts are copied, lived, as has\nalready been stated, about B.C. 330 to 260, and, from his position\nas a Babylonian priest, had the best means of knowing the Babylonian\ntraditions.\n\nThe others are later writers, who copied in the main from Berosus, most\nof whose notices may be taken as mere abridgments of his statements.\n\n\nEXTRACT I. FROM ALEXANDER POLYHISTOR\n\n(CORY, p. 56).\n\nBerosus, in the first book of his history of Babylonia, informs us\nthat he lived in the age of Alexander, the son of Philip. And he\nmentions that there were written accounts, preserved at Babylon with\nthe greatest care, comprehending a period of above fifteen myriads\nof years; and that these writings contained histories of the heaven\nand of the sea; of the birth of mankind; and of the kings, and of the\nmemorable actions which they had achieved.\n\nAnd in the first place he describes Babylonia as a country situated\nbetween the Tigris and the Euphrates; that it abounded with wheat, and\nbarley, and ocrus, and sesame; and that in the lakes were found the\nroots called gong\u00e6, which are fit for food, and in respect to nutriment\nsimilar to barley. There were also palm-trees and apples, and a variety\nof fruits; fish also and birds, both those which are merely of flight,\nand those which frequent the water. Those parts of the country which\nbordered upon Arabia were without water, and barren; but that which\nlay on the other side was both hilly and fertile.\n\nAt Babylon there was (in these times) a great resort of people of\nvarious races, who inhabited Chaldea, and lived in a lawless manner\nlike the beasts of the field.\n\n[Illustration: OANNES AND OTHER BABYLONIAN MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES FROM\nCYLINDER.]\n\nIn the first year there appeared, from that part of the Erythr\u00e6an sea\nwhich borders upon Babylonia, an animal endowed with reason, by name\nOannes, whose whole body (according to the account of Apollodorus)\nwas that of a fish; under the fish\u2019s head he had another head, with\nfeet also below similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish\u2019s\ntail. His voice, too, and language were articulate and human; and a\nrepresentation of him is preserved even to this day.\n\nThis being was accustomed to pass the day among men, but took no\nfood at that season; and he gave them an insight into letters and\nsciences, and arts of every kind. He taught them to construct houses,\nto found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles\nof geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of\nthe earth, and showed them how to collect the fruits; in short, he\ninstructed them in every thing which could tend to soften manners and\nhumanize their lives. From that time, nothing material has been added\nby way of improvement to his instructions. And when the sun had set\nthis being Oannes used to retire again into the sea, and pass the night\nin the deep, for he was amphibious. After this there appeared other\nanimals like Oannes, of which Berosus proposes to give an account when\nhe comes to the history of the kings. Moreover, Oannes wrote concerning\nthe generation of mankind, of their different ways of life, and of\ntheir civil polity; and the following is the purport of what he said:\u2014\n\n\u201cThere was a time in which there existed nothing but darkness and\nan abyss of waters, wherein resided most hideous beings, which were\nproduced of a two-fold principle. There appeared men, some of whom were\nfurnished with two wings, others with four, and with two faces. They\nhad one body, but two heads; the one that of a man, the other of a\nwoman; they were likewise in their several organs both male and female.\nOther human figures were to be seen with the legs and horns of a goat;\nsome had horses\u2019 feet, while others united the hind quarters of a horse\nwith the body of a man, resembling in shape the hippocentaurs. Bulls\nlikewise were bred there with the heads of men; and dogs with fourfold\nbodies, terminated in their extremities with the tails of fishes;\nhorses also with the heads of dogs; men, too, and other animals,\nwith the heads and bodies of horses, and the tails of fishes. In\nshort, there were creatures in which were combined the limbs of every\nspecies of animals. In addition to these, fishes, reptiles, serpents,\nwith other monstrous animals, which assumed each other\u2019s shape and\ncountenance. Of all which were preserved delineations in the temple of\nBelus at Babylon.\n\n[Illustration: COMPOSITE ANIMALS FROM CYLINDER.]\n\n\u201cThe person who was supposed to have presided over them was a woman\nnamed Omoroka, which in the Chaldean language is Thalatth; which in\nGreek is interpreted Thalassa, the sea; but according to the most true\ninterpretation it is equivalent to Selene the moon. All things being in\nthis situation, Belus came, and cut the woman asunder, and of one half\nof her he formed the earth, and of the other half the heavens, and at\nthe same time destroyed the animals within her (or in the abyss).\n\n\u201cAll this\u201d (he says) \u201cwas an allegorical description of nature.\nFor, the whole universe consisting of moisture, and animals being\ncontinually generated therein, the deity above-mentioned (Belus) cut\noff his own head; upon which the other gods mixed the blood, as it\ngushed out, with the earth, and from thence men were formed. On this\naccount it is that they are rational, and partake of divine knowledge.\nThis Belus, by whom they signify Hades (Pluto), divided the darkness,\nand separated the heavens from the earth, and reduced the universe\nto order. But the recently-created animals, not being able to bear\nthe prevalence of light, died. Belus upon this, seeing a vast space\nunoccupied, though by nature fruitful, commanded one of the gods to\ntake off his head, and to mix the blood with the earth, and from thence\nto form other men and animals, which should be capable of bearing the\nlight. Belus formed also the stars, and the sun, and the moon, and the\nfive planets.\u201d (Such, according to Alexander Polyhistor, is the account\nwhich Berosus gives in his first book.)\n\n(In the second book was contained the history of the ten kings of the\nChaldeans, and the periods of the continuance of each reign, which\nconsisted collectively of an hundred and twenty sari, or four hundred\nand thirty-two thousand years; reaching to the time of the Deluge. For\nAlexander, enumerating the kings from the writings of the Chaldeans,\nafter the ninth, Ardates, proceeds to the tenth, who is called by them\nXisuthrus, in this manner):\u2014\n\n\u201cAfter the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari.\nIn his time happened the great deluge; the history of which is thus\ndescribed. The deity Kronos appeared to him in a vision, and warned\nhim that upon the fifteenth day of the month D\u00e6sius there would be\na flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore enjoined\nhim to write a history of the beginning, progress, and conclusion of\nall things, down to the present term, and to bury it in Sippara, the\ncity of the Sun; and to build a vessel, and take with him into it his\nfriends and relations; and to convey on board every thing necessary\nto sustain life, together with all the different animals, both birds\nand quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deep. Having asked\nthe Deity whither he was to sail, he was answered, \u2018To the Gods;\u2019 upon\nwhich he offered up a prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed\nthe divine admonition, and built a vessel five stadia in length, and\ntwo in breadth. Into this he put everything which he had prepared, and\nlast of all conveyed into it his wife, his children, and his friends.\n\nAfter the flood had been upon the earth, and was in time abated,\nXisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel; which not finding any food,\nnor any place whereupon they might rest their feet, returned to him\nagain. After an interval of some days, he sent them forth a second\ntime; and they now returned with their feet tinged with mud. He made\na trial a third time with these birds; but they returned to him no\nmore: from whence he judged that the surface of the earth had appeared\nabove the waters. He therefore made an opening in the vessel, and upon\nlooking out found that it was stranded upon the side of some mountain;\nupon which he immediately quitted it with his wife, his daughter, and\nthe pilot. Xisuthrus then paid his adoration to the earth: and, having\nconstructed an altar, offered sacrifices to the gods, and, with those\nwho had come out of the vessel with him, disappeared.\n\nThey who remained within, finding that their companions did not return,\nquitted the vessel with many lamentations, and called continually on\nthe name of Xisuthrus. Him they saw no more; but they could distinguish\nhis voice in the air, and could hear him admonish them to pay due\nregard to the gods; and he likewise informed them that it was upon\naccount of his piety that he was translated to live with the gods, and\nthat his wife and daughter and the pilot had obtained the same honour.\nTo this he added that they should return to Babylonia, and, as it was\nordained, search for the writings at Sippara, which they were to make\nknown to all mankind; moreover, that the place wherein they then were\nwas the land of Armenia. The rest having heard these words offered\nsacrifices to the gods, and, taking a circuit, journeyed towards\nBabylonia.\n\nThe vessel being thus stranded in Armenia, some part of it yet remains\nin the Gordy\u00e6an (or Kurdish) mountains in Armenia, and the people\nscrape off the bitumen with which it had been outwardly coated, and\nmake use of it by way of an antidote and amulet. In this manner they\nreturned to Babylon and when they had found the writings at Sippara\nthey built cities and erected temples, and Babylon was thus inhabited\nagain.\u201d\u2014_Syncel. Chron._ xxviii.; _Euseb. Chron._ v.\u202f8.\n\n\nBEROSUS, FROM APOLLODORUS (CORY, p. 51).\n\nThis is the history which Berosus has transmitted to us. He tells us\nthat the first king was Alorus of Babylon, a Chaldean; he reigned ten\nsari (36,000 years); and afterwards Alaparus and Amelon, who came from\nPantibiblon; then Ammenon the Chaldean, in whose time appeared the\nMusarus Oannes, the Annedotus from the Erythr\u00e6an sea. (But Alexander\nPolyhistor, anticipating the event, has said that he appeared in\nthe first year, but Apollodorus says that it was after forty sari;\nAbydenus, however, makes the second Annedotus appear after twenty-six\nsari.) Then succeeded Megalarus from the city of Pantibiblon, and\nhe reigned eighteen sari; and after him Daonus, the shepherd from\nPantibiblon, reigned ten sari; in his time (he says) appeared again\nfrom the Erythr\u00e6an sea a fourth Annedotus, having the same form with\nthose above, the shape of a fish blended with that of a man. Then\nreigned Euedorachus (or Euedoreschus) from Pantibiblon for the term of\neighteen sari; in his days there appeared another personage from the\nErythr\u00e6an sea like the former, having the same complicated form between\na fish and a man, whose name was Odakon. (All these, says Apollodorus,\nrelated particularly and circumstantially whatever Oannes had informed\nthem of; concerning these Abydenus has made no mention.) Then reigned\nAmempsinus, a Chaldean from Larancha; and he being the eighth in\norder reigned ten sari. Then reigned Otiartes,[1] a Chaldean, from\nLarancha; and he ruled eight sari. And, upon the death of Otiartes, his\nson Xisuthrus reigned eighteen sari; in his time happened the great\nDeluge. So that the sum of all the kings is ten; and the term which\nthey collectively reigned an hundred and twenty sari.\u2014_Syncel. Chron._\nxxxix.; _Euseb. Chron._ v.\n\n\nBEROSUS, FROM ABYDENUS (CORY, p. 53).\n\nSo much concerning the wisdom of the Chaldeans.\n\nIt is said that the first king of the country was Alorus, and that he\ngave out a report that God had appointed him to be the shepherd[2] of\nthe people; he reigned ten sari; now a sarus is esteemed to be three\nthousand six hundred years, a neros six hundred, and a sossus sixty.\n\nAfter him Alaparus reigned three sari; to him succeeded Amillarus from\nthe city of Pantibiblon, who reigned thirteen sari; in his time there\ncame up from the sea a second Annedotus, a demigod very similar in\nform to Oannes; after Amillarus reigned Ammenon twelve sari; who was\nof the city of Pantibiblon; then Megalarus of the same place reigned\neighteen sari; then Daos the shepherd governed for the space of ten\nsari, he was of Pantibiblon; in his time four double-shaped personages\ncame up out of the sea to land, whose names were Euedokus, Eneugamus,\nEneubulus, and Anementus; afterwards in the time of Euedoreschus\nappeared another, Anodaphus. After these reigned other kings, and\nlast of all Sisithrus, so that in all the number amounted to ten\nkings, and the term of their reigns to an hundred and twenty sari.\n(And among other things not irrelative to the subject he continues\nthus concerning the Deluge): After Euedoreschus some others reigned,\nand then Sisithrus. To him the deity Kronos foretold that on the\nfifteenth day of the month D\u00e6sius there would be a deluge of rain: and\nhe commanded him to deposit all the writings whatever which were in\nhis possession in Sippara the city of the sun. Sisithrus, when he had\ncomplied with these commands, sailed immediately to Armenia, and was\npresently inspired by God. Upon the third day after the cessation of\nthe rain Sisithrus sent out birds by way of experiment, that he might\njudge whether the flood had subsided. But the birds, passing over an\nunbounded sea without finding any place of rest, returned again to\nSisithrus. This he repeated with other birds. And when upon the third\ntrial he succeeded, for the birds then returned with their feet stained\nwith mud, the gods translated him from among men. With respect to the\nvessel, which yet remains in Armenia, it is a custom of the inhabitants\nto form bracelets and amulets of its wood.\u2014_Syncel. Chron._ xxxviii.;\n_Euseb. Pr\u00e6p. Evan._ lib. ix.; _Euseb. Chron._ v.\u202f8.\n\n\nOF THE TOWER OF BABEL (CORY, p. 55).\n\nThey say that the first inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their\nown strength and size and despising the gods, undertook to build a\ntower whose top should reach the sky, in the place where Babylon now\nstands; but when it approached the heaven the winds assisted the gods,\nand overturned the work upon its contrivers, and its ruins are said to\nbe still at Babylon; and the gods introduced a diversity of tongues\namong men, who till that time had all spoken the same language; and a\nwar arose between Kronos and Titan. The place in which they built the\ntower is now called Babylon on account of the confusion of tongues, for\nconfusion is by the Hebrews called Babel.\u2014_Euseb. Pr\u00e6p. Evan._ lib.\nix.; _Syncel. Chron._ xliv.; _Euseb. Chron._ xiii.\n\n\nOF THE DISPERSION, FROM HESTI\u00c6US (_Cory_, p. 74).\n\nThe priests who escaped took with them the implements of the worship of\nthe Enyalian Zeus, and came to Senaar in Babylonia. But they were again\ndriven from thence by the introduction of a diversity of tongues; upon\nwhich they founded colonies in various parts, each settling in such\nsituations as chance or the direction of God led them to occupy.\u2014_Jos.\nAnt. Jud._ i.\u202f c. 4; _Euseb. Pr\u00e6p. Evan._ ix.\n\n\nOF THE TOWER OF BABEL, FROM ALEXANDER POLYHISTOR (CORY, p. 75).\n\nThe Sibyl says: That when all men formerly spoke the same language some\namong them undertook to erect a large and lofty tower, that they might\nclimb up into heaven. But God sending forth a whirlwind confounded\ntheir design, and gave to each tribe a particular language of its own,\nwhich is the reason that the name of that city is Babylon. After the\ndeluge lived Titan and Prometheus, when Titan undertook a war against\nKronos.\u2014_Sync._ xliv.; _Jos. Ant. Jud._ i. c. 4.; _Euseb. Pr\u00e6p. Evan._ ix.\n\n\nTHE THEOGONIES, FROM DAMASCIUS (CORY, p. 92).\n\nBut the Babylonians, like the rest of the barbarians, pass over in\nsilence the One principle of the universe, and they constitute two:\nTauthe[3] and Apason,[4] making Apason the husband of Tauthe, and\ndenominating her the mother of the gods. And from these proceeds an\nonly-begotten son, Moymis,[5] which I conceive is no other than the\nintelligible world proceeding from the two principles. From them also\nanother progeny is derived, Dache and Dachus;[6] and again a third,\nKissare and Assorus, from which last three others proceed, Anus (Anu),\nand Illinus (Elum), and Aus (Hea). And of Aus and Dauke (Dav-cina,\n\u201clady of the earth,\u201d) is born a son called Belus, who, they say, is the\nfabricator of the world, the Demiurgus.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] The native account of the Deluge shows that this name must be\ncorrected to Opartes, the native name being Ubara-Tutu.\n\n[2] A common title of the early Accadian kings is \u201cshepherd,\u201d pointing\nto the fact that the Accadians had led a pastoral life before their\nsettlement and organization in the Babylonian plain.\n\n[3] Assyrian, Tiamtu, \u201cthe deep.\u201d\n\n[4] Assyrian, Apsu, \u201cthe ocean.\u201d\n\n[5] Assyrian, Mummu, \u201cchaos.\u201d\n\n[6] Assyrian, Lakhmu or Lakhvu; and Lakhama or Lakhva.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nBABYLONIAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\n Greek accounts.\u2014Mythology local in\n origin.\u2014Antiquity.\u2014Conquests.\u2014Colonies.\u2014Three great gods.\u2014Twelve\n great gods.\u2014Angels.\u2014Spirits.\u2014Anu.\u2014Anatu.\u2014Rimmon.\u2014Istar.\u2014Equivalent\n to Venus.\u2014Hea.\u2014Oannes.\u2014Merodach.\u2014Bel or Zeus.\u2014Zirat-banit, Succoth\n Benoth.\u2014Bel.\u2014Sin the moon god.\u2014Ninip.\u2014Samas.\u2014Nergal.\u2014Anunit.\u2014Table of\n gods.\n\n\nIn their accounts of the Creation and of the early history of the human\nrace the Babylonian divinities figure very prominently, but it is often\ndifficult to identify the deities mentioned by the Greek authors,\nbecause the phonetic reading of many of the names of the Babylonian\ngods is still very obscure, and the classical writers frequently\nreplace them by the deities of their own mythology, whom they imagined\nto correspond with the Babylonian names.\n\nIn this chapter it is proposed to give a general account only of\ncertain parts of the Babylonian mythology, in order to show the\nrelationship between the deities and their titles and work.\n\nBabylonian mythology was local in origin; each of the gods had a\nparticular city which was the special seat of his worship, and it is\nprobable that the idea of weaving the gods into a system, in which each\nshould have his part to play, did not arise until after the Semitic\noccupation of the country. The antiquity of this systematized mythology\nmay, however, be seen from the fact, that two thousand years before\nthe Christian era it was already completed, and its deities definitely\nconnected into a system which remained with little change down to the\nclose of the kingdom.\n\nIn early times the gods were worshipped only at their original cities\nor seats, the various cities or settlements being independent of\neach other; but it was natural as wars arose, and some cities gained\nconquests over others, and kings gradually united the country into\nmonarchies, that the conquerors should impose their gods upon the\nconquered. Thus arose the system of different ranks or grades among\nthe gods. Colonies, again, were sent out at times, and the colonies,\nas they considered themselves sons of the cities they started from,\nalso considered their gods to be sons of the gods of the mother cities.\nPolitical changes in early times led to the rise and fall of various\ntowns and consequently of their deities, and gave rise to numerous\nmyths relating to the different personages in the mythology. In some\nremote age there appear to have been three great cities in the country,\nErech, Eridu, and Nipur, and their divinities Anu, Hea, and Bel were\nconsidered the \u201cgreat gods\u201d of the country. Subsequent changes led to\nthe decline of these states, but their deities still retained their\nposition to the end of the Babylonian system.\n\nThese three leading deities formed members of a circle of twelve gods,\nalso called \u201cgreat.\u201d These gods and their titles are given as:\n\n1. Anu, meaning \u201cthe sky\u201d in Accadian, king of angels and spirits, lord\nof the city of Erech.\n\n2. Bel, Elum or Mul in Accadian, lord of the lower world, father of the\ngods, creator, lord of the city of Nipur.\n\n3. Hea, \u201cgod of the house of water,\u201d maker of fate, lord of the deep,\ngod of wisdom and knowledge, lord of the city of Eridu.\n\n4. Sin, the Moon-god, Acu or Agu in Accadian, lord of crowns, maker of\nbrightness, lord of the city of Ur.\n\n5. Merodach, \u201cthe glory of the Sun,\u201d just prince of the gods, lord of\nbirth, lord of the city of Babylon.\n\n6. Rimmon, the Air-god, Mirmir in Accadian, the strong god, lord of\ncanals and atmosphere, lord of the city of Muru.\n\n7. Samas, the Sun-god, Utuci in Accadian, judge of heaven and earth,\ndirector of all, lord of the cities of Larsa and Sippara.\n\n8. Ninip, warrior of the gods, destroyer of the wicked, lord of the\ncity of Nipur.\n\n9. Nergal, \u201cilluminator of the great city\u201d (Hades), giant king of war,\nlord of the city of Cutha.\n\n10. Nusku, holder of the golden sceptre, the lofty god.\n\n11. Belat, wife of Bel, mother of the great gods, lady of the city of\nNipur.\n\n12. Istar, Gingir in Accadian, eldest of heaven and earth, raising the\nface of warriors.\n\nBelow these deities there was a large body of gods forming the bulk of\nthe pantheon, and below these were arranged the Igigi, or 300 angels\nof heaven, and the Anunnaki, or 600 angels of earth. Below these again\ncame various classes of spirits or genii called Sedu, Vadukku, Ekimu,\nGallu, and others; some of these were evil, some good.\n\nThe relationship of the various principal gods and their names, titles\nand offices will appear from the following remarks.\n\nAt the head of the Babylonian mythology stands a deity who was\nsometimes identified with the heavens, sometimes considered as the\nruler and god of heaven. This deity is named Anu, his sign is the\nsimple star, the symbol of divinity, and at other times the Maltese\ncross. In the philosophic theology of a later age, Anu represents\nabstract divinity, and he appears as an original principle, perhaps as\nthe original principle of nature. He represents the universe as the\nupper and lower regions, and when these were divided the upper region\nor heaven was called Anu, while the lower region or earth was called\nAnatu; Anatu being the female principle or wife of Anu. Anu is termed\nthe old god, and the god of the whole of heaven and earth; one of the\nmanifestations of Anu was under the two forms Lakhmu and Lakhamu,\nwhich probably correspond to the Greek forms Dache and Dachus, see p.\n44.[7] These forms are said to have sprung out of the original chaos,\nand they are followed by the two forms Sar and Kisar (the Kissare and\nAssorus of the Greeks). Sar means the upper hosts or expanse, Kisar the\nlower hosts or expanse; these are also forms or manifestations of Anu\nand his wife. Anu is further called lord of the old city, and bears the\nname of Alalu. His titles generally indicate height, antiquity, purity,\ndivinity, and he may be taken as the general type of divinity. Anu was\noriginally worshipped at the city of Erech, which was called the city\nof Anu and Anatu, and the great temple there was called the \u201chouse of\nAnu,\u201d or the \u201chouse of heaven.\u201d\n\nAnatu, the wife or consort of Anu, is generally only a female form of\nAnu, but is sometimes contrasted with him; thus, when Anu represents\nheight and heaven, Anatu represents depth and earth; she is also the\nlady of darkness, the mother of the god Hea, the mother of heaven and\nearth, the female fish-god, and is often identified with Istar or\nVenus. Anatu, however, had no existence in Accadian mythology. She is\nthe product of the imagination of the Semites, whose grammar drew a\ndistinction between the masculine and feminine genders.\n\nAnu and Anatu had a numerous family; among their sons are numbered\nLugal-edin, \u201cthe king of the desert,\u201d Latarak, Ab-gula, Kusu, and the\nair-god, whose name was Ramman or Rimmon, in Accadian Mirmir. Rimmon\nis god of the region of the atmosphere, or space between the heaven\nand earth, he is the god of rain, of storms and whirlwind, of thunder\nand lightning, of floods and watercourses. He was in high esteem in\nSyria and Arabia, where he bore the name of Dadda; in Armenia he was\ncalled Teiseba. Rimmon is always considered an active deity, and was\nextensively worshipped.\n\nAnother important god, a son of Anu, was the god of fire, whose name\nwas Gibil in Accadian. The fire-god takes an active part in the\nnumerous mythological tablets and legends, and is considered to be the\nmost potent deity in relation to witchcraft and spells generally.\n\nThe most important of the daughters of Anu was named Istar; she was in\nsome respects the equivalent of the classical Venus. Her worship was\nat first subordinate to that of Anu, and as she was goddess of love,\nwhile Anu was god of heaven, it is probable that the first intention in\nthe mythology was only to represent love as heaven-born; but in time\na more sensual view prevailed, and the worship of Istar became one of\nthe darkest features in Babylonian mythology. As the worship of this\ngoddess increased in favour, it gradually superseded that of Anu, until\nin time his temple, the house of heaven, came to be regarded as the\ntemple of Venus.\n\nThe planet Venus, as the evening star, was identified with Istar of\nErech, while the morning star was Anunit, goddess of Agan\u00e9.\n\nIstar, however, was worshipped under a great variety of forms. Each\ncity, each state, had its own special Istar and its own special\nworship of her. In the syncretic age of Babylonian theology, these\nvarious forms and modes of worship were amalgamated together, and\nepithets of the goddess which were originally peculiar to particular\nlocalities, were applied to the single goddess of the state religion.\nThus, according to the legends of one part of Babylonia, Istar was\nthe daughter of the Moon-god, according to those of another part of\nthe country she was the daughter of Anu. Hence in the mythology of a\nlater period she appears sometimes as the daughter of the one deity,\nsometimes as the daughter of the other.\n\nA companion deity with Anu is Hea, who is god, of the sea and of Hades,\nin fact of all the lower regions. In some of his attributes he answers\nto the Kronos of the Greeks, in others to their Poseidon. Hea is called\ngod of the lower region, he is lord of the sea or abyss; he is also\nlord of generation and of all human beings and bears the titles: lord\nof wisdom, of mines and treasures; of gifts, of music, of fishermen\nand sailors, and of Hades or hell. It has been supposed that the\nserpent was one of his emblems, and that he was the Oannes of Berosus;\nbut these conjectures have not yet been proved. The wife of Hea was\nDavkina, the Davke of Damascius, who is the goddess of the lower\nregions, the consort of the deep; and their principal son was Maruduk\nor Merodach, the Bel of later times.\n\nMerodach, god of Babylon, appears in all the earlier inscriptions\nas the agent of his father Hea; he goes about the world collecting\ninformation, and receives commissions from his father to set right\nall that appears wrong. He is called the redeemer of mankind, the\nrestorer to life, and the raiser from the dead. He is an active agent\nin creation, but is always subordinate to his father Hea. In later\ntimes, after Babylon had been made the capital, Merodach, who was\ngod of that city, was raised to the head of the Pantheon. Merodach\nafterwards came to be identified with the classical Jupiter, but the\nname Bel, \u201cthe lord,\u201d was only given to him in times subsequent to the\nrise of Babylon, when the worship of the older Bel, the Accadian Elum,\nwas falling into decay. The wife of Merodach was Zirat-panit, perhaps\nthe Succoth Benoth of the Bible. Besides Merodach, Hea had a numerous\nprogeny, his sons being principally river-gods.\n\nNebo, the god of knowledge and literature, who was worshipped at the\nneighbouring city of Borsippa, was a favourite deity in later times, as\nwas also his consort Tasmit \u201cthe Hearer.\u201d Nebo, whose name signifies\n\u201cthe prophet,\u201d was called Timkhir in Accadian, and had his temple\nin the island of Dilvun, called \u201cthe island of the gods\u201d by the\nAccadians, now Bahrein. Here he was worshipped under the name of Enzak.\n\nA third great god was united with Anu and Hea, named Enu, Mul, and Elum\nin Accadian, and Bel in Semitic Babylonian; he was the original Bel\nof the Babylonian mythology, and was lord of the surface of the earth\nand the affairs of men. Elum was lord of the city of Nipur, and in the\nSemitic period had a consort named Belat or Beltis. He was held to be\nthe most active of the gods in the general affairs of mankind, and was\nso generally worshipped in early times that he came to be regarded as\nthe national divinity, and his temple at the city of Nipur was regarded\nas the type of all others. The extensive worship of Bel, and the high\nhonour in which he was held, seem to point to a time when his city,\nNipur, was the metropolis of the country.\n\nBelat, or Beltis, the wife of Bel, is a famous deity celebrated in all\nages, but as the title Belat only signified \u201clady,\u201d or \u201cgoddess,\u201d it\nwas a common one for many goddesses, and the notices of Beltis probably\nrefer to several different personages.\n\nBel had, like the other gods, a numerous family; his eldest son was\nthe moon-god, called Agu or Acu in Accadian, in later times generally\ntermed Sin. Sin was presiding deity of the city of Ur, and early\nassumed an important place in the mythology. The moon-god figures\nprominently in some early legends, and during the time when the city of\nUr was capital of the country his worship became very widely-spread\nand popular throughout the country.\n\nNinip, god of hunting and war, was another celebrated son of Bel; he\nwas worshipped with his father at Nipur. Ninip was also much worshipped\nin Assyria as well as Babylonia, his character as presiding genius of\nwar and the chase making him a favourite deity with the warlike kings\nof Assyria. Originally he was a form of the sun-god.\n\nSin the moon-god had a son Samas, the sun-god. Samas is an active\ndeity in some of the Izdubar legends and fables, but he is generally\nsubordinate to Sin. In the Babylonian system the moon takes precedence\nof the sun, as befitted a nation of astronomers, and the Samas of Larsa\nwas probably considered a different deity from Samas of Sippara.\n\nAmong the other deities of the Babylonians may be counted Nergal, god\nof Cutha, who like Ninip, presided over hunting and war, and Anunit,\nthe goddess of one of the quarters of Sippara, and of the city of Agan\u00e9.\n\nThe following table will exhibit the relationship of the principal\ndeities as it had been drawn up by the native writers on the\ncosmogony; but it must be noted that it belongs to a late age of\nsyncretic philosophy, when the scholars of Assur-bani-pal\u2019s court\nwere endeavouring to resolve the old deities of Accad into mere\nabstractions, and so explain the myths which described the creation of\nthe world.\n\n  Tamtu or Tiamtu                                    Absu (Apason?)\n     (the sea).                                        (the deep).\n       \u2502                                                   \u2502\n       \u2514\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2518\n                                  \u2502\n                                Mummu\n                               (chaos).\n                                  \u2502\n         \u250c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2510\n         \u2502                                               \u2502\n     Lakhmu                                            Lakhamu\n       \u2502                                                 \u2502\n       \u251c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2510\n       \u2502                                                      \u2502\n    Kisar (Kissare)                                    Sar (Assorus)\n    (lower expanse).                                 (upper expanse).\n       \u2502                                                 \u2502\n       \u251c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2510\n       \u2502                \u2502              \u2502                    \u2502\n      Anu             Anatu      Elum, or Bel.            Beltis.\n    (heaven).           \u2502          (earth).\n       \u2502                \u2502              \u2502\n     \u250c-\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2510\n     \u2502               \u2502            \u2502                         \u2502\n    Rimmon         Gibil      Hea (Saturn)         Istar (Venus).\n  (atmosphere).  (fire-god).   (the deep).\n\n\n  Hea (Saturn).    Davkina (Davke).        Elum.      Beltis.\n      \u2502                  \u2502                   \u2502           \u2502\n      \u2514\u2014\u2014\u252c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u2518           \u250c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2510\n         \u2502                           \u2502                      \u2502\n    Merodach.      Zirat-panit.     Sin.   Ningal.      Ninip.\n          \u2502          \u2502               \u2502       \u2502\n     \u250c\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014-\u2510        \u250c\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2534\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2510\n     \u2502                   \u2502        \u2502              \u2502\n  Nebo.               Tasmit.   Samas.         Istar.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[7] Though Lakhmu properly represented Anu or Anatu, he sometimes takes\nthe place of the Solar hero Ninip as husband of Gula, \u201cthe great\u201d\ngoddess.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nBABYLONIAN LEGEND OF THE CREATION.\n\n Mutilated condition of tablets.\u2014List of subjects.\u2014Description\n of chaos.\u2014Tiamat.\u2014Generation of Gods.\u2014Damascius.\u2014Comparison\n with Genesis.\u2014Three great gods.\u2014Doubtful fragments.\u2014Fifth\n tablet.\u2014Stars.\u2014Moon.\u2014Sun.\u2014Abyss or chaos.\u2014Creation of moon.\u2014Creation\n of animals.\u2014Monotheism.\u2014Hymn to Merodach.\u2014The black-headed race\n or Adamites.\u2014Garden of Eden.\u2014The flaming sword.\u2014The fall.\u2014The\n Sabbath.\u2014Sacred tree.\u2014Hymn to the Creator.\n\n\nIt is extremely unfortunate that the legend of the Creation in days\nhas reached us in so fragmentary a condition. It is evident, however,\nthat in its present form it is of Assyrian, not of Babylonian, origin,\nand was probably composed in the time of Assur-bani-pal. It breathes\nthroughout the spirit of a later age, its language and style show no\ntraces of an Accadian original, and the colophon at the end implies\nby its silence that it was not a copy of an older document. No doubt\nthe story itself was an ancient one; the number seven was a sacred\nnumber among the Accadians, who invented the week of seven days, and\nkept a seventhday Sabbath, and excavations in Babylonia may yet bring\nto light the early Chaldean form of the legend. But this we do not at\npresent possess.\n\nSo far as the fragments can be arranged, they seem to observe the\nfollowing order:\u2014\n\n1. Part of the first tablet, giving an account of the Chaos and the\ngeneration of the gods.\n\n2. Fragment of subsequent tablet, perhaps the second on the foundation\nof the deep.\n\n3. Fragment of tablet placed here with great doubt, possibly referring\nto the creation of land.\n\n4. Part of the fifth tablet, recording the creation of the heavenly\nbodies.\n\n5. Fragment of the seventh? tablet, recording the creation of land\nanimals.\n\nThese fragments indicate that the series included at least seven\ntablets, the writing on each tablet being in one column on the front\nand back, and probably including over one hundred lines of text.\n\nThe first fragment in the story is the upper part of the first tablet,\ngiving the description of the void or chaos, and part of the generation\nof the gods. The translation is as follows:\n\n1. At that time above, the heaven was unnamed:\n\n2. below the earth by name was unrecorded;\n\n3. the boundless deep also (was) their generator.\n\n4. The chaos of the sea was she who bore the whole of them.\n\n5. Their waters were collected together in one place, and\n\n6. the flowering reed was not gathered, the marsh-plant was not grown.\n\n7. At that time the gods had not been produced, any one of them;\n\n8. By name they had not been called, destiny was not fixed.\n\n9. Were made also the (great) gods,\n\n10. the gods Lakhmu and Lakhamu were produced (the first), and\n\n11. to growth they........\n\n12. the gods Sar and Kisar were made next.\n\n13. The days were long; a long (time passed), (and)\n\n14. the gods Anu (Bel and Hea were born of)\n\n15. the gods Sar and (Kisar).......\n\nOn the reverse of this tablet there are only fragments of the eight\nlines of colophon, but the restoration of the passage is easy; it\nreads:\u2014\n\n1. First tablet of \u201cAt that time above\u201d (name of Creation series).\n\n2. Palace of Assur-bani-pal king of nations, king of Assyria,\n\n3. to whom Nebo and Tasmit gave broad ears\n\n4. (his) seeing eyes regarded the engraved characters of the tablets;\n\n5. this writing which among the kings who went before me\n\n6. none of them regarded,\n\n7. the secrets of Nebo, the literature of the library as much as is\nsuitable,\n\n8. on tablets I wrote, I engraved, I explained, and\n\n9. for the inspection of my people within my palace I placed.\n\nThis colophon will serve to show the value attached to the documents,\nand the date of the present copies.\n\nThe fragment of the obverse, broken as it is, is precious as giving the\ndescription of the chaos or desolate void before the Creation of the\nworld, and the first movement of creation. This corresponds with the\nfirst two verses of the first chapter of Genesis.\n\n1. \u201cIn the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.\n\n2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the\nface of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the\nwaters.\u201d\n\nOn comparing the fragment of the first tablet of the Creation with the\nextract from Damascius, we do not find any statement as to there being\ntwo principles at first called Tauthe and Apason, and these producing\nMoymis, but in the Creation tablet the first existence is called\nMummu Tiamatu, a name meaning \u201cthe chaos of the deep.\u201d The compound\nMummu Tiamatu, in fact, combines the two names Moymis and Tauthe of\nDamascius. Tiamatu must also be the same as the Thalatth of Berosus,\nwhich we are expressly told was the sea. It should, therefore, be\ncorrected to Thavatth, as M. Lenormant proposed some years ago. It is\nevident that, according to the notion of the Babylonians, the sea was\nthe origin of all things, and this also agrees with the statement of\nGenesis i.\u202f2. where the chaotic waters are called t\u0115h\u00f4m, \u201cthe deep,\u201d\nthe same word as the Tiamat of the Creation text and the Tauthe of\nDamascius.\n\nThe Assyrian word _Mummu_ is probably connected with the Hebrew\n_m\u0115h\u00fbm\u00e2h_, confusion, its Accadian equivalent being _Umun_. Besides\nthe name of the chaotic deep called _t\u0115h\u00f4m_ in Genesis, which is, as\nhas been said, evidently the Tiamat of the Creation text, we have in\nGenesis the word _toh\u00fb_, waste, desolate, or formless, applied to\nthis chaos. The correspondence between the inscription and Genesis is\ncomplete, since both state that a watery chaos preceded the creation,\nand formed, in fact, the origin and groundwork of the universe. We have\nhere not only an agreement in sense, but, what is rarer, the same word\nused in both narratives as the name of this chaos, and given also in\nthe account of Damascius.\n\nNext we have in the inscription the creation of the gods Lakhmu and\nLakhamu; these are male and female personifications of motion and\nproduction, and correspond to the Dache and Dachus of Damascius, and\nthe moving _r\u00fbakh_, the wind, or spirit of Genesis. The next stage\nin the creation was the production of Sar and Kisar, representing\nthe upper expanse and the lower expanse, and corresponding with the\nAssorus and Kissare of Damascius. The resemblance in these names is\nprobably even closer than is here represented, since Sar is generally\nread Assur as a deity in later times, being an ordinary symbol for the\nsupreme god of the Assyrians.\n\nSo far as can be made out from the mutilated text, the next step in the\ncreation of the universe was (as in Damascius) the generation of the\nthree great gods, Anu, Elum, and Hea, the Anus, Illinus, and Aus of\nthat writer. Anu here symbolizes the heaven, Elum the earth, and Hea\nthe sea.\n\nIt is probable that the inscription went on to relate the generation of\nthe other gods, and then passed to the successive acts of creation by\nwhich the world was fashioned.\n\nThe successive forms Lakhmu and Lakhamu, Sar and Kisar, are represented\nin some of the lists of the gods as names or manifestations of Anu and\nAnatu. These lists were compiled at a time when a school of monotheists\nhad risen in Chaldea, and an attempt was made on the part of its\nadherents to resolve the various deities of the popular creed into\nforms of \u201cthe one god\u201d Anu. In each case there appears to be a male\nand female principle, which principles combine in the formation of the\nuniverse.\n\nAs has been already remarked, the conception of a male and female\nprinciple was due to the Semites. Hence it is clear that the system of\ncosmology embodied in these Creation tablets was of Semitic and not\nAccadian origin.\n\nThe resemblance between the extract from Damascius and the account\nin the Creation tablet as to the successive stages or forms of the\nCreation, is striking, and leaves no doubt about the source of the\nquotation from the Greek writer.\n\nThe three next tablets in the Creation series are absent, there being\nonly two doubtful fragments of this part of the story. Judging from the\nanalogy of the Book of Genesis, we may conjecture that this part of the\nnarrative contained the description of the creation of light, of the\natmosphere or firmament, of the dry land, and of plants. One fragment\nwhich probably belonged to this space is a small portion of the top of\na tablet referring to the fixing of the dry land; but it may belong to\na later part of the story, since it is part of a speech to one of the\ngods. This fragment is\u2014\n\n1. At that time the foundations of the caverns of rock [thou didst\nmake];\n\n2. the foundations of the caverns thou didst call [them] (?)\n\n3. the heaven was named ......\n\n4. to the face of the heaven ......\n\n5. thou didst give ......\n\n6. a man ......\n\nThere is a second more doubtful fragment which also may come in here,\nand, like the last, relate to the creation of the dry land. It is,\nhowever, given under reserve\u2014\n\n1. The god Khir ... si ....\n\n2. At that time to the god ....\n\n3. So be it, I concealed thee ....\n\n[Illustration: FIGHT BETWEEN MERODACH (BEL) AND THE DRAGON.]\n\n4. from the day that thou ....\n\n5. angry thou didst speak ....\n\n6. The god Assur his mouth opened and spake, to the god ....\n\n7. Above the deep, the seat of ....\n\n8. in front of Bit-Sarra which I have made ...\n\n9. below the place I strengthen ....\n\n10. Let there be made also Bit-Lusu, the seat ..\n\n11. Within it his stronghold may he build and ..\n\n12. At that time from the deep he raised ....\n\n13. the place .... lifted up I made ....\n\n14. above .... heaven ....\n\n15. the place .... lifted up thou didst make.\n\n16. .... the city of Assur the temples of the great gods ....\n\n17. .... his father Anu ....\n\n18. the god .... thee and over all which thy hand has made\n\n19. .... thee, having, over the earth which thy hand has made\n\n20. .... having, Assur which thou hast called its name.\n\nThis fragment is both mutilated and obscure, and it is more than\ndoubtful whether it has anything to do with the Creation tablets. It\nseems rather to be a local legend relating to Assur, the old capital of\nAssyria, and possibly recording the legend of its foundation. Bit-Sarra\nor E-Sarra, \u201cthe temple of the legions,\u201d was dedicated to Ninip,\nand forms part of the name of Tiglath-Pileser (_Tuculti-pal-esara_\n\u201cServant of the son of Bit-Sarra,\u201d _i.e._ Ninip). It seems to have\ndenoted the firmament, the \u201clegions\u201d or \u201chosts\u201d referring to the\nmultitudinous spirits of heaven. The Biblical expression \u201cthe Lord of\nhosts\u201d may be compared.\n\nThe next recognizable portion of the Creation legends is the upper part\nof the fifth tablet, which gives the creation of the heavenly bodies,\nand runs parallel to the account of the fourth day of creation in\nGenesis.\n\nThis tablet opens as follows:\u2014\n\n\n_Fifth Tablet of Creation Legend._\n\nObverse.\n\n1. (Anu) made suitable the mansions of the (seven) great gods.\n\n2. The stars he placed in them, the _lumasi_[8] he fixed.\n\n3. He arranged the year according to the bounds (or signs of the\nZodiac, Heb. _mazzaroth_) that he defined.\n\n4. For each of the twelve months three stars he fixed.\n\n5. From the day when the year issues forth unto the close,\n\n6. he established the mansion of the god Nibiru, that they might know\ntheir laws (or bonds).\n\n7. That they might not err or deflect at all,\n\n8. the mansion of Bel and Hea he established along with himself.\n\n9. He opened also the great gates in the sides of the world;\n\n10. the bolts he strengthened on the left hand and on the right.\n\n11. In its centre also he made a staircase.\n\n12. The moon-god he caused to beautify the thick night.\n\n13. He appointed him also to hinder (or balance) the night, that the\nday may be known,\n\n14. (saying): Every month, without break, observe thy circle:\n\n15. at the beginning of the month also, when the night is at its height.\n\n16. (with) the horns thou announcest that the heaven may be known.\n\n17. On the seventh day (thy) circle (begins to) fill,\n\n18. but open in darkness will remain the half on the right (?).[9]\n\n19. At that time the sun (will be) on the horizon of heaven at thy\n(rising).\n\n20. (Thy form) determine and make a (circle?).\n\n21. (From hence) return (and) approach the path of the sun.\n\n22. (Then) will the darkness return; the sun will change.\n\n23. ....... seek its road.\n\n24. (Rise and) set, and judge judgment.\n\nAll that is left of the reverse is the latter half of the last line of\nthe narrative, and the colophon, which runs thus:\u2014\n\n..... the gods on his hearing.\n\nFifth tablet of (the series beginning) At that time above.\n\nProperty of Assur-bani-pal king of nations king of Assyria.\n\nThis fine fragment is a typical specimen of the style of the whole\nseries, and shows a marked stage in the Creation, the appointment of\nthe heavenly orbs. It parallels the fourth day of Creation in the first\nchapter of Genesis, where we read: \u201cAnd God said, Let there be lights\nin the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and\nlet them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day\nfrom the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for\ndays, and years:\n\n\u201c15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give\nlight upon the earth: and it was so.\n\n\u201c16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day,\nand the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.\n\n\u201c17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon\nthe earth,\n\n\u201c18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the\nlight from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.\n\n\u201c19. And the evening and morning were the fourth day.\u201d\n\nThe fragment of the first tablet of the Creation series was\nintroductory, and dealt with the generation of the gods rather than the\ncreation of the universe, and when we remember that the fifth tablet\ncontains the Creation given in Genesis under the fourth day, while a\nsubsequent tablet, probably the seventh, gives the creation of the\nanimals which, according to Genesis, took place on the sixth day, it\nwould seem that the events of each of the days of Genesis were recorded\non a separate tablet, and that the numbers of the tablets generally\nfollowed in the same order as the days of Creation in Genesis, thus:\n\nGenesis, Chap. I.\n\n  V.  1 & 2   agree with Tablet 1.\n  V.  3 to 5  1st day    probably with tablet 2.\n  V.  6 to 8  2nd day    probably with tablet 3.\n  V.  9 to 13 3rd day    probably with tablet 4.\n  V. 14 to 19 4th day    agree with tablet 5.\n  V. 20 to 23 5th day    probably with tablet 6.\n  V. 24 & 25 6th day     probably with tablet 7.\n  V. 26 and following,   6th and 7th day, probably with tablet 8.\n\nThe assertion with which the fifth tablet begins may be compared with\nthe oft-repeated statement of Genesis, after each act of creative\npower, that \u201cGod saw that it was good.\u201d In fact, the difference between\nthe expressions used by the Hebrew and Assyrian writers seems greater\nthan it really is, since the word rendered \u201cto make suitable\u201d comes\nfrom a root which signifies \u201cpleasant\u201d or \u201cagreeable.\u201d It may be noted\nthat the word _yuaddi_ \u201che arranged\u201d or \u201cappointed\u201d in the third line\nhas the same root as the Hebrew _m\u00f4\u0103dhim_, which is used in the same\nconnection Gen. i. 14 in the sense of \u201cseasons.\u201d\n\nWe next come to the creation of the heavenly orbs, and just as the\nbook of Genesis says they were set for signs and seasons, for days and\nyears, so the inscription describes that the stars were set in courses\nto define the year. The twelve constellations or signs of the zodiac,\nand two other bands of constellations are referred to, corresponding\nwith the two sets of twelve stars, one to the north and the other to\nthe south of the zodiac, which according to Diodorus Siculus played a\nprominent part in Babylonian astronomy.\n\nThe god Nibiru appears in the astronomical tablets as one of the stars.\nHere, however, in the account of the Creation, he seems to be the deity\nwho specially presided over the signs of the zodiac and the course\nof the year, and in a hymn to the Creator, which will be translated\nfurther on, he takes the place of the classical Fate, and determines\nthe laws of the universe generally, and of the stars in particular. It\nis evident, from the opening of the inscription on the first tablet of\nthe great Chaldean work on astrology and astronomy, that the functions\nof the stars were according to the Babylonians to act not only as\nregulators of the seasons and the year, but to be also used as signs,\nas in Genesis i. 14, for in those ages it was generally believed that\nthe heavenly bodies gave, by their appearance and positions, signs of\nevents which were coming on the earth.\n\nThe passage given in the eighth line of the inscription, to the effect\nthat the God who created the stars fixed places or habitations for Bel\nand Hea with himself in the heavens, points to the fact that Anu, god\nof the heavens, was considered to be the creator of the heavenly hosts;\nfor it is he who shares with Bel and Hea the divisions of the face of\nthe sky, which was divided into three zones. Summer was the season of\nBel, autumn of Anu, and winter of Hea, the season of spring not being\nrecognized by the Babylonians. The new moon also was called Anu for the\nfirst five days, Hea for the next five, and Bel for the third.\n\nThe ninth line of the tablet gives us an insight into the philosophical\nbeliefs of the early Babylonians. They evidently considered that the\nworld was drawn together out of the waters, and rested or reposed\nupon a vast abyss of chaotic ocean which filled the space below the\nworld. This dark infernal lake was shut in by gigantic gates and strong\nfastenings, which prevented the floods from overwhelming the world. In\nthe centre was a staircase which led from the abyss below to the region\nof light above.\n\nThe account then goes on to describe the creation of the moon for the\npurpose of beautifying the night and regulating the calendar. The\nphases of the moon are recorded: its commencing as a thin crescent at\nevening on the first day of the month, and its gradually increasing\nand travelling further into the night. It will be noticed that it is\nregarded as appointed, in the language of the Bible, \u201cto divide the\nday from the night,\u201d and to be for a sign and a season. The expression\n\u201cjudge judgment\u201d may be compared with the expression of Genesis (i.\n18.) that the sun and moon were set \u201cto rule over the day and over the\nnight.\u201d An account of the creation of the sun probably followed upon\nthat of the creation of the moon.\n\nThe creation of the moon, however, is placed first in accordance with\nthe general views of the Babylonians, who, as was natural in a people\nof astronomers, honoured the moon above the sun, even making the\nsun-god the son of the moon-god.\n\nThe details of the creation of the planets and stars, which would have\nbeen very important to us, are unfortunately lost, no further fragment\nof this tablet having been recovered.\n\nThe colophon at the close of the tablet gives us, however, part of\nthe first line of the sixth tablet, but not enough to determine its\nsubject. It is probable that this dealt with the creation of creatures\nof the water and fowls of the air, and that these were the creation of\nBel, the companion deity to Anu.\n\nThe next tablet, the seventh in the series, is probably represented\nby a curious fragment, which was found by Mr. Smith in one of the\ntrenches at Kouyunjik.\n\nThis fragment is like some of the others, the upper portion of a tablet\nmuch broken, and only valuable from its generally clear meaning. The\ntranslation is as follows:\n\n1. At that time the gods in their assembly created .....\n\n2. They made suitable the strong monsters .....\n\n3. They caused to come living creatures .....\n\n4. cattle of the field, beasts of the field, and creeping things of the\nfield .....\n\n5. They fixed for the living creatures .....\n\n6. ..... cattle and creeping things of the city they fixed .....\n\n7. ..... the assembly of the creeping things, the whole which were\ncreated .....\n\n8. ..... which in the assembly of my family ...\n\n9. ..... and the god Nin-si-ku (the lord of noble face) joined the two\ntogether .....\n\n10. ..... to the assembly of the creeping things I gave life .....\n\n11. ..... the seed of Lakhamu I destroyed .....\n\nThis tablet corresponds with the sixth day of Creation in Genesis (i.\n24-25): \u201cAnd God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature\nafter his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth\nafter his kind: and it was so.\n\n\u201cAnd God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after\ntheir kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind:\nand God saw that it was good.\u201d\n\nThe Assyrian tablet commences with a statement of the satisfaction a\nformer creation, apparently that of the monsters or whales, had given;\nhere referring to Genesis i. 23. It then goes on to relate the creation\nof living animals on land, three kinds being distinguished, exactly\nagreeing with the Genesis account, and then we have in the ninth line a\ncurious reference to the god Nin-si-ku (one of the names of Hea). One\nof Hea\u2019s titles was \u201cthe lord of mankind,\u201d and Sir Henry Rawlinson has\nendeavoured to show that Eridu, the city of Hea, was identical with the\nBiblical Garden of Eden. We may here notice a tablet which refers to\nthe creation of man. In this tablet, K 63, the creation of the human\nrace is given to Hea, and all the references in other inscriptions\nmake this his work. As in Genesis, so in these cuneiform tablets the\nCreator is made to speak and to address the objects which he calls into\nexistence.\n\nThe next fragment was supposed by Mr. Smith to relate to the fall of\nman and to contain the speech of the deity to the newly-created pair.\nThis, however, is extremely doubtful, as will appear from the revised\ntranslation below. The fragment is in so broken a condition that almost\nanything may be made out of it. It is possible that nothing more is\nintended by it than instructions as to the construction of an image of\na household god or spirit and the correct mode of worshipping it.\n\n\nK 3364 obverse.\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n1. The whole day thy god thou shalt approach (or invoke),\n\n2. sacrifice, the prayer of the mouth, the image ......\n\n3. to thy god a heart engraved ..... thou hast.\n\n4. How long to the image of the divinity,\n\n5. supplication, humility, and bowing of the face,\n\n6. fire (?) dost thou give to him, and bringest tribute,\n\n7. and in reverence also with me thou goest straight?\n\n8. In thy knowledge (?) also behold; in the tablets (writing)\n\n9. worship and blessing thou exaltest.\n\n10. Sacrifice and the preservation ...\n\n11. and prayer for sin ....\n\n12. the fear of the gods deserts thee (?) not ....\n\n13. the fear of the Anunnaci thou completest ....\n\n14. With friend and comrade speech thou makest ....\n\n15. In the under-world speech thou makest to the propitious genii.\n\n16. When thou speakest also he will give ....\n\n17. When thou trustest also thou ....\n\n18. ... a comrade also ....\n\n19. .... thou trustest a friend ....\n\n20. (In) thy knowledge (?) also\n\n\nReverse.\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n1. in the presence of beauty .... thou didst speak\n\n2. thy beauty ....\n\n3. beauty also .... the female spirit (?)\n\n4. An age thou revolvest .. his enemies?\n\n5. his rising (?) he seeks .... the man ....\n\n6. with the lord of thy beauty thou makest fat (?)\n\n7. to do evil thou shalt not approach him,\n\n8. at thy illness .... to him\n\n9. at thy distress ....\n\nThe next fragment is a small one; it is the lower corner of a tablet\nwith the ends of a few lines. Mr. Smith connected it with the legend of\nthe fall of man, but the mention of the god Sar-tuli-elli, \u201cthe king of\nthe illustrious mound,\u201d would rather indicate that it has to do with\nthe story of the Tower of Babel. As, however, the fragment is too small\nand mutilated to decide the question, it has been allowed to remain in\nthe place assigned to it by Mr. Smith, and not transferred to a later\nchapter.\n\nAccording to Sir H. Rawlinson, \u201cthe holy mound\u201d is now represented by\nthe ruins of Amr\u00e1n. At any rate, it stood on the site of the Tower\nof Babel and was dedicated to the god Anu. Along with the adjoining\nbuildings, among which are to be numbered the royal palace and the\nfamous hanging gardens, it formed a particular quarter of Babylon,\nenclosed within its own wall and known under the name of Su-Anna, the\n\u201cValley of Anu,\u201d which Sir H. Rawlinson proposes to read Khalann\u00ea,\nand identify with the Calneh of the Old Testament. In support of his\nreading he refers to the statement of the Septuagint in Isaiah x.\u202f9.:\n\u201cHave not I taken the region above Babylon and Khalann\u00ea, where the\ntower was built?\u201d\n\n\nObverse.\n\n1. .... seat her (?)\n\n2. .... all the lords\n\n3. .... his might\n\n4. .... the gods, lord of the mighty hour (?)\n\n5. .... lord of the kingdom magnified.\n\n6. .... mightily supreme.\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. .... Hea called[10] to his men\n\n2. .... the path of his greatness\n\n3. .... any god\n\n4. .... Sar-tuli-elli (the king of the illustrious mound) his\nknowledge (?)\n\n5. .... his illustrious ......\n\n6. .... his fear (?) Sar-tuli-elli\n\n7. .... his might\n\n8. .... to them, in the midst of the sea\n\n9. .... thy father battle\n\nWe may conclude this chapter with a fragment of some length, which Mr.\nSmith erroneously supposed to refer to the Fall. His mistake arose from\nthe imperfect state in which the text of it has been preserved, and\nthe consequent obscurity of its reference and meaning. Dr. Oppert has\nshown that it really contains a hymn to the Creator Hea. Before the\ncommencement of lines 1, 5, 11, 19, 27, and 29 on the obverse, there\nare glosses stating that the divine titles commencing these lines all\napply to the same deity. These explanatory glosses show that even in\nthe Assyrian time the allusions in the original text were not all\nintelligible without the help of a commentary.\n\n\nObverse.\n\n1. The god of (propitious) Life ..... (secondly)\n\n2. who established light .....\n\n3. their precepts .....\n\n4. Never may they forsake (their) boundaries ...\n\n5. The god of illustrious Life, thirdly, he was called, the director of\nthe bright (firmament),\n\n6. the god of good winds, the lord of hearing and obedience,\n\n7. the creator of lean (?) and fat, the establisher of fertility,\n\n8. who has brought to increase them that were small at the outset.\n\n9. In the mighty thickets we have smelt his good wind.\n\n10. May he command, may he glorify, may he hearken to his worshippers.\n\n11. The god of the illustrious Crown, fourthly, may he quicken the\ndust!\n\n12. Lord of the illustrious charm, who gives life to the dead,\n\n13. who to the hostile gods has granted return,\n\n14. the homage they rendered he has caused the gods his foes to submit\nto.\n\n15. That they might obey (?) he has created mankind,\n\n16. the merciful one with whom is life.\n\n17. May he establish, and never may his word be forgotten\n\n18. in the mouth of the black-headed race whom his hands created.\n\n19. The god of the illustrious incantation, fifthly, may his foes (?)\nbe overthrown (_or_ answered) with hostile curse (?)\n\n20. He who with his illustrious incantation has removed the curse of\nthe enemy.\n\n21. The God the Heart-knower, who knows the hearts of the gods, who fly\nfrom the fear of him:\n\n22. the doing of evil they caused not to come forth against him.\n\n23. He who establishes the assembly of the gods, (who knows) their\nhearts,\n\n24. who subdues the disobedient .....\n\n25. who directs justice .....\n\n26. who (defends?) sovereignty .....\n\n27. The god of prosperous life, (sixthly) .....\n\n28. he who cuts off darkness (?) .....\n\n29. The god Sukhkhab (?), thirdly, the flock (?) ...\n\n30. he who adds unto them .....\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. ..... the star .....\n\n2. may he seize that which has the head in the tail (? a comet)\n\n3. since that in the midst of the sea he passed over .....\n\n4. His name accordingly (is) Nibiru (the passer over), the possessor\n.....\n\n5. may he (confirm) the precepts (or laws) of the stars of heaven.\n\n6. Like sheep may he feed the gods all of them;\n\n7. may he exorcise the sea, its treasures may he hedge in and summon\n\n8. among men hereafter through length of days.\n\n9. May he also remove mischief; may he overcome it for the future.\n\n10. Because (all) places he made, he pierced, he strengthened.\n\n11. Lord of the world is his name called, (even) father Bel.\n\n12. The names of the angels he gave to them.\n\n13. Hea also heard, and his liver (_i.\u202fe._ anger) was lulled,\n\n14. (saying) \u201cSince that his men he has quickened by his name,\n\n15. he like myself has the name of Hea.\n\n16. The bond of my command may he bring to them all, and\n\n17. all my _tereti_ (lots?) may he answer [or throw down]\n\n18. by the fifty names of the great gods.\u201d\n\n19. His fifty names they pronounced; they restored his precepts.\n\n20. May they be observed and, as formerly, may he speak.\n\n21. Unsearchable, wise, triumphantly may he rule.\n\n22. May father to son repeat and exalt (them).\n\n23. May he open the ears of shepherd and flocks.\n\n24. May (the shepherd) obey Merodach, Bel among the gods.\n\n25. May his land be green, may he himself be at peace.\n\n26. Established (is) his word, unyielding his command;\n\n27. the utterance of his mouth no god has ever despised.\n\n28. He was called by name and withdraws not his neck.\n\n29. In the abundance of his strength there is no god, that receives for\nhim his crown.\n\n30. Far-reaching (is) his heart, an abyss (is) his stomach:\n\n31. Sin and cursing before him disappear.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn a second copy which presents several variations lines 14 to 19 are\nomitted.\n\nIt is evident that this hymn to the Creator emanated from what Sir\nHenry Rawlinson has termed the monotheistic party among the ancient\nBabylonians, and that the speech of Hea in lines 14 to 19 has been\ninserted by a poet who did not belong to it. The various deities of\nthe popular faith are all resolved into the one supreme God, the maker\nof the world and man, who was worshipped at Babylon under the names\nof Bel, \u201cthe Lord,\u201d and Merodach the sun-god, at Eridu under that of\nHea and at Nipur under that of Anu. The gods of the multitude are said\nto be only the fifty names of the Creator. To him is ascribed the\nregulation of the stars, the naming of the angels, and the subjection\nof the subordinate demi-gods, and marginal notes expressly state that\nthe several titles under which the Creator is addressed on the obverse\nof the tablets, all belong to one and the same divinity.\n\nIn the popular mythology the part of the Creator was usually assigned\nto Merodach. Thus we find the latter deity addressed as follows in a\nmutilated bilingual hymn (K 2962 _Obv._):\u2014\n\n1. [King] of the land, lord of the world,\n\n2. ... protector of heaven and earth,\n\n3. firstborn of the god Hea,\n\n4. the restorer of heaven and earth,\n\n5. ... mighty lord of mankind, king of the world.\n\n6. ... the god of gods,\n\n7. (lord) of heaven and earth, who hast no equal,\n\n8. companion of Anu and Bel,\n\n9. the merciful one among the gods,\n\n10. the merciful who raisest the dead to life,\n\n11. Merodach, the king of heaven and earth,\n\n12. the king of Babylon, the lord of Bit-Saggil,\n\n13. the king of Bit-Zida, the lord of the mighty temple of life,\n\n14. heaven and earth are thine,\n\n15. the circuit of heaven and earth is thine,\n\n16. the charm (to produce) life is thine,\n\n17. the philtre of life is thine,\n\n18. the Illustrious King, the mouth of the Abyss, is thine;\n\n19. mankind, (even) the men with the black heads,\n\n20. living creatures, as many as are called by a name, as exist in the\nland,\n\n21. the four quarters of the world, as many as there are,\n\n22. the angels of the hosts of heaven and earth, as many as there are,\n(are thine).\n\nIn these references to the names of the living creatures made by the\nCreator at the beginning of the world, we are irresistibly reminded of\nthe passage in Genesis ii. 19., where we read that \u201cout of the ground\nGod formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air; and\nbrought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever\nAdam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.\u201d\n\nOne of the most curious statements made in these hymns is that the race\nof men created by the deity was black-headed. The same race of men\nis mentioned elsewhere in the ancient literature of the Accadians.\nThus in a hymn to the goddess Gula, the goddess is described as \u201cthe\nmother who bore the men of the black heads,\u201d and in another hymn the\nsun-god is declared to \u201cdirect the men of the black heads.\u201d Sargon of\nAgan\u00e9 is further described as ruling over \u201call the men of the black\nheads,\u201d and in imitation of this mode of expression Sennacherib in\nlater days speaks of having overcome \u201call the black-headed race.\u201d The\nblack-headed race of Sennacherib, however, was the Turanian population\nof Elam and the adjoining districts on the east of Babylonia, whereas\nit is plain that the Accadian hymns mean by the black-headed race the\nAccadian people itself. It was over them that Sargon of Agan\u00e9, the\nSemite, boasts of having extended his sway, though according to an old\ngeographical list it was Sumer or Shinar rather than Accad, which was\ninhabited by the people of \u201cthe black-face.\u201d But after all there is no\ncontradiction between the statements of Sennacherib and of the hymns.\nThe Accadians belonged to the same race as the Turanian inhabitants of\nElam, and spoke a similar language to theirs.\n\nNow we shall find in the account of the exploits of Dibbara, which will\nbe translated in a subsequent chapter, that the black race, which is\nidentified with the Accadians, is contrasted with the people of Syria,\nwhile in the bilingual tablets, the black race is similarly contrasted\nwith the white race. Hence it is clear that the white race was the\nsame as the Syrians, and since the Syrians were Semites, the white\nrace must have been synonymous in the language of the Accadians with\nSemitic. As a matter of fact, the Semites belong to the white-skinned\ndivision of mankind, and were accordingly painted yellow by the\nEgyptians. The Accadian population, on the other hand, belonged to the\ndark-skinned division, though it is not necessary to suppose them to\nhave been as black as the negro or the \u201cblameless Ethiopian.\u201d In the\nbilingual tablets, the black race is rendered in Assyrian by the word\n_Adamatu_ or \u201cred-skins.\u201d\n\nA popular etymology connected this word _Adamatu_ with the word _Adamu_\nor _admu_, \u201cman,\u201d partly on account of the similarity of sound, partly\nbecause in the age of Accadian supremacy and literature, the men _par\nexcellence_, the special human beings made by the Creator, were the\ndark-skinned race of Accad. The Accadian Adam or \u201cman\u201d was dark; it\nwas only when the culture of the Accadians had been handed on to their\nSemitic successors that he became fair.\n\nThe discovery that the Biblical Adam is identical with the Assyrian\n_Adamu_ or \u201cman,\u201d and that the Assyrian _Adamu_ goes back to the\nfirst-created man of Accadian tradition who belonged to the black, that\nis, to the Accadian race, is due to Sir Henry Rawlinson. He has also\nsuggested that the contrast between the black and the white races,\nbetween the Accadian and the Semite, is indicated in the sixth chapter\nof Genesis, where a contrast is drawn between the daughters of men, or\n_Adamu_, and the sons of God. It was owing to the intermarriage of the\nsons of God with the Adamites that the evils were spread which brought\ndown upon the world the punishment of the Deluge.\n\nIt was Sir Henry Rawlinson who further pointed out that the Biblical\nG\u00e2n Eden, or \u201cGarden of Eden,\u201d is Gan-Duniyas (also called Gun-duni),\na name under which Babylonia is frequently known in the Assyrian\ninscriptions. Gan-Duniyas signifies \u201cthe enclosure\u201d or \u201cfortress of the\ngod Duniyas,\u201d a deity whose nature and attributes are still obscure,\nand who may have been merely a deified monarch of the country. Two\nof the four rivers of Paradise are the two great rivers that enclose\nthe fruitful plain of Babylonia, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The\nEuphrates was called Purrat, or \u201cthe curving water\u201d in Accadian from\nits shape; the Tigris was known under the name of Masgugar, \u201cthe\ncurrent,\u201d Tiggar, and Idikna or Idikla, from the latter of which comes\nthe Hiddekhel of Genesis, with prefixed Accadian _hid_, \u201criver.\u201d Gihon\nis identified with the Arakhtu or Araxes, \u201cthe river of Babylon,\u201d\nwhich flowed westward into the desert of Arabia or Cush, though Sir H.\nRawlinson suggests its identity with the modern Jukh\u00e1, which runs past\nthe site of Eridu, while Sargon calls Elam the country of \u201cthe four\nrivers.\u201d[11]\n\nThe tree of life was well known to the Accadians and the Assyrians\nafter them, and the bas-reliefs of Nineveh frequently present us with\na representation of it, guarded on either side by a winged cherub who\nhas the head sometimes of a man, sometimes of an eagle. The tree always\nassumes a conventional form, and since it generally bears fir-cones\nwe may infer that the Accadians brought the tradition of it with them\nfrom their original seat in the colder mountainous land of Media, where\nthe fir was plentiful, and identified it with the palm-tree only after\ntheir settlement in Chaldea. An old name of Babylon, or of a part of\nBabylon, was Din-Tir, \u201cthe life of the forest,\u201d which may possibly have\nsome connection with the tree of life. The special spot, however, in\nwhich the site of the tree of life was localized was close to the city\nof Eridu, now represented by Dhib according to Sir H. Rawlinson, where\nthe solar hero Tammuz was supposed to have received the death-blow\nwhich obliged him to spend one half the year in the lower world.\n\n[Illustration: SACRED TREE, OR GROVE, WITH ATTENDANT CHERUBIM, FROM\nASSYRIAN CYLINDER.]\n\nA fragmentary bilingual hymn speaks thus of the sacred spot, and of the\ntree of life that grew therein:\u2014\n\n1. In Eridu a dark pine grew, in an illustrious place it was planted.\n\n2. Its (root) was of white crystal which spread towards the deep.\n\n3. The (shrine?) of Hea (was) its pasturage in Eridu, a canal full of\n(water).\n\n4. Its seat (was) the (central) place of this earth.\n\n5. Its shrine (was) the couch of mother Zicum, (the mother of gods and\nmen).\n\n6. The (roof) of its illustrious temple like a forest spread its shade;\nthere (was) none who within entered.\n\n7. (It was the seat) of the mighty mother (Zicum), the begetter of Anu.\n\nEridu was the special seat of the worship of Hea, and was often known\nas \u201cthe good city.\u201d\n\nThe flaming sword, which according to Genesis guarded the approach to\nthe tree of life is paralleled by the flaming sword of Merodach, which\nis explained to be the lightning. It was with this sword which is\nrepresented on the monuments as having the form of a sickle like the\nsword of the Greek hero Perseus, that Merodach overthrew the dragon and\nthe powers of darkness. A hymn put into the mouth of Merodach, thus\nspeaks of it:\u2014\n\nThe sun of fifty faces, the lofty weapon of my divinity, I bear.\n\nThe hero that striketh the mountains, the propitious sun of the\nmorning, that is mine, I bear.\n\nMy mighty weapon, which like an orb smites in a circle the corpses of\nthe fighters, I bear.\n\nThe striker of mountains, my murderous weapon of Anu, I bear.\n\nThe striker of mountains, the fish with seven tails, that is mine, I\nbear.\n\nThe terror of battle, the destroyer of rebel lands, that is mine, I\nbear.\n\nThe defender of conquests, the great sword, the falchion of my\ndivinity, I bear.\n\nThat from whose hand the mountain escapes not, the hand of the hero of\nbattle, which is mine, I bear.\n\nThe delight (?) of heroes, my spear of battle, (I bear).\n\nMy crown which strikes against men, the bow of the lightning, (I bear).\n\nThe crusher of the temples of rebel lands, my club and buckler of\nbattle, (I bear).\n\nThe lightning of battle, my weapon of fifty heads, (I bear).\n\nThe feathered monster of seven heads, like the huge serpent of seven\nheads, (I bear).\n\nLike the serpent that beats the sea, (which attacks) the foe in the\nface,\n\nthe devastator of forceful battle, lord over heaven and earth, the\nweapon of (seven) heads, (I bear).\n\nThat which maketh the light come forth like day, god of the East, my\nburning power, (I bear).\n\nThe establisher of heaven and earth, the fire-god, who has not his\nrival, (I bear).\n\n[Illustration: SACRED TREE, SEATED FIGURE ON EACH SIDE, AND SERPENT IN\nBACKGROUND, FROM AN EARLY BABYLONIAN CYLINDER.]\n\nAllusion is made in this hymn, it will be noticed, to a fabulous\nserpent with seven heads, which beats the sea into waves. This serpent\nwas originally identical with the dragon of the deep, combated\nby Merodach, as we shall learn from a fragment to be translated\nhereafter, that is to say with the principle of chaos and darkness,\ncalled Mummu Tiamtu, \u201cthe chaos of the deep,\u201d in the account of the\ncreation. It is also described as \u201cthe serpent of night,\u201d \u201cthe serpent\nof darkness,\u201d \u201cthe wicked serpent,\u201d and \u201cthe mightily strong serpent,\u201d\nepithets which show that it was on the one hand the embodiment of moral\nevil, and on the other was primitively nothing more than the darkness\ndestroyed by the sun, the bright power of day. It is difficult not\nto compare the serpent of Genesis with this serpent of Babylonian\nmythology. No Chaldean legend of the Fall has as yet been found, but\nwhen we remember how few Chaldean legends have been discovered, and\nthat even for these we are dependent on the selection and copies of\nAssyrian scribes, we need not be surprised that such should be the\ncase. The Babylonian colouring of the history in Genesis, the fact that\nthe rivers of Paradise are Babylonian rivers, and that the tree of life\nwas familiar to Babylonian art and tradition, make it probable that we\nshall yet discover the Chaldean version of the Fall of Man as soon as\nthe libraries of Babylonia have been explored. Indeed, this is made\nalmost certain by the existence of an early Babylonian seal, now in\nthe British Museum, on which a tree is represented with a human figure\nseated on either side of it, with the hands stretched out towards the\nfruit, and a serpent standing erect behind one of them. We know that\nthe devices on these early seals were taken from the popular legends\nand myths. It must be admitted, however, that the two figures seem both\nto be males.\n\nBut if references to the Fall are few and obscure, there can be\nno doubt that the Sabbath was an Accadian institution, intimately\nconnected with the worship of the seven planets. The astronomical\ntablets have shown that the seven-day week was of Accadian origin,\neach day of it being dedicated to the sun, moon, and five planets, and\nthe word Sabbath itself, under the form of _Sabattu_, was known to the\nAssyrians, and explained by them as \u201ca day of rest for the heart.\u201d A\ncalendar of Saint\u2019s days for the month of the intercalary Elul makes\nthe 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th days of the lunar month Sabbaths\non which no work was allowed to be done. The Accadian words by which\nthe idea of Sabbath is denoted, literally mean, \u201ca day on which work is\nunlawful,\u201d and are interpreted in the bilingual tablets as signifying\n\u201ca day of peace\u201d or \u201ccompletion of labours.\u201d The calendar lays down the\nfollowing injunctions to the king for each of these sabbaths:\u2014\n\nA Sabbath: the prince of many nations the flesh of animals and cooked\nfood may not eat.\n\nThe garments of his body he may not change. White robes he may not put\non.\n\nSacrifice he may not offer. The king may not ride in his chariot.\n\nIn royal fashion he may not legislate. A review of the army the general\nmay not hold.\n\nMedicine for his sickness of body he may not apply.\n\n[Illustration: MERODACH ATTACKING THE SERPENT, ON AN ASSYRIAN CYLINDER,\nIN THE POSSESSION OF DR. S. WELLS WILLIAMS, NEWHAVEN.]\n\nThe antiquity of this text is evident not only from the fact that it\nhas been translated from an Accadian original, but also from the word\nrendered \u201cprince,\u201d which literally means \u201ca shepherd,\u201d and takes us\nback to the early times when the Accadian monarchs still remembered\nthat their predecessors had been only shepherd-chieftains.\n\nBefore concluding this chapter, it must be noted that the word\ntranslated \u201cthe sea,\u201d in lines three and seven of the reverse of the\nhymn to the Creator, is Tiamtu, which, as we have seen, was the name\napplied to the deep, upon which the Babylonians believed that the earth\nrested, and out of which it had been brought into existence.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[8] The seven \u201csheep (or oxen) of the hero\u201d Tammuz (Orion), of which\nthe first was \u201cthe plough-handle,\u201d perhaps Benelnash. One of the others\nwas \u201cthe shepherd of the heavenly flock\u201d or Arcturus.\n\n[9] This is Dr. Oppert\u2019s rendering of a line which is so mutilated as\nto make any attempt at translation extremely doubtful.\n\n[10] The word used here is Accadian (_ba-an-an-me_).\n\n[11] Since, however, a bilingual tablet states that the pronunciation\nof the Accadian word for \u201cthe desert\u201d which lay on the west side of the\nEuphrates (where Ur was built) was _edinna_, it is possible that \u201cthe\nGarden of Eden\u201d of Genesis may be the cultivated portion of _edinna_,\n\u201cthe desert,\u201d in the neighbourhood of Eridu.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nOTHER BABYLONIAN ACCOUNTS OF THE CREATION.\n\n Cuneiform accounts originally traditions.\u2014Variations.\u2014Account\n of Berosus.\u2014Tablet from Cutha.\u2014Translation.\u2014Composite\n animals.\u2014Eagle-headed men.\u2014Seven brothers.\u2014Destruction of men.\u2014Seven\n wicked spirits.\u2014Mythical explanation of lunar eclipses.\u2014Hymn\n to the God of Fire.\u2014War in heaven.\u2014Tiamat-Merodach.\u2014The great\n dragon.\u2014Parallel Biblical account.\n\n\nThe traditions embodied by Accadians and Assyrians in the literature\nof which specimens have been given in the preceding chapter, had\nbeen handed down by word of mouth through many generations, and\ncommitted to writing only at a comparatively late period. When such\nis the case, traditions are naturally liable to vary, sometimes very\nwidely, according to the period and condition of the country. Thus\nmany different versions of a story arise, and there can be no doubt\nthat this was actually the case with the Creation legends. The account\nof the Creation in six days was not the only account of the Creation\ncurrent among the inhabitants of Assyria and Babylonia. It was but\none out of many which had slowly grown up among the people, and\nbeen finally thrown into a literary form. The story of the Creation\ntransmitted through Berosus (see chapter iii. pp. 34-36), for example,\nsupplies us with an account which differs entirely from the cuneiform\naccount in the last chapter as well as from the Genesis account, and\nsome fragments of tablets from Kouyunjik belonging to the library of\nAssur-bani-pal give a copy, mutilated as usual, of a third version\nwhich has, however, points of agreement with the account of Berosus.\nThis legend, of which the following is a translation, is stated to be\ncopied from a tablet at Cutha.\n\n\n_Legend of Creation from Cutha tablet._\n\n(Many lines lost at commencement.)\n\n1. .... his lord, the crown of the gods ....\n\n2. the spearmen of his host, the spearmen of (his) host ....\n\n3. lord of those above and those below, lord of the angels ....\n\n4. who drank turbid waters and pure waters did not drink ....\n\n5. who with his flame, as a weapon, that host enclosed,\n\n6. has taken, has devoured.\n\n7. On a memorial-stone he wrote not, he disclosed not, and bodies and\nproduce\n\n8. in the earth he caused not to come forth, and I approached him not.\n\n9. Warriors with the bodies of birds of the desert, men\n\n10. with the faces of ravens,\n\n11. these the great gods created,\n\n12. in the earth the gods created their city.\n\n13. Tiamtu gave them suck,\n\n14. their life (?) the mistress of the gods created.\n\n15. In the midst of the earth they grew up and became strong, and\n\n16. increased (?) in number,\n\n17. Seven kings, brethren, were made to come as begetters;\n\n18. six thousand in number were their armies.\n\n19. The god Banini their father was king, their mother\n\n20. the queen was Melili,\n\n21. their eldest brother who went before them, Memangab was his name,\n\n22. their second brother Medudu was his name,\n\n23. their third brother .... pakh was his name,\n\n24. their fourth brother .... dada was his name,\n\n25. their fifth brother .... takh was his name,\n\n27. their sixth brother .... ruru was his name,\n\n28. their seventh brother .... (rara) was his name.\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n1. ..... the evil curse ....\n\n2. The man his will turned ....\n\n3. on a .... I arranged.\n\n4. On a (tablet) the evil curse (which) in blood he raised\n\n5. (I wrote and the children of) the generals I urged on.\n\n6. Seven (against seven in) breadth I arranged them.\n\n7. (I established) the illustrious (ordinances?)\n\n8. I prayed to the great gods\n\n9. Istar, ...., Zamama, Anunit,\n\n10. Nebo .... and Samas the warrior,\n\n11. the son of (the moon-god), the gods that go (before me).\n\n12. .... he did not give and\n\n13. thus I said in my heart,\n\n14. that, Here am I and\n\n15. may I not go .... (beneath) the ground.\n\n16. may I not go ...... may the prayer\n\n17. go when .... my heart,\n\n18. may I renew, the iron in my hand may I take.\n\n19. The first year in the course of it\n\n20. one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers I sent out, and among them\n\n21. not one returned.\n\n22. The second year in the course of it, ninety thousand I sent out,\nand not one returned.\n\n23. The third year in the course of it, sixty thousand seven hundred I\nsent out, and not one returned.\n\n24. They were rooted out, they were smitten with sickness; I ate,\n\n25. I rejoiced, I rested.\n\n26. Thus I said to my heart that, Here am I and\n\n27. for my reign what is left (to rule over)?\n\n28. I the king, am not the replenisher of his country,\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. and (I), the shepherd, am not the replenisher of his people,\n\n2. since I established corpses, and a desert is left.\n\n3. The whole of the country (and) men with night, death (and) plague I\ncursed it.\n\n4. (I afflicted them) as many as exist.\n\n5. ...... there descended\n\n6. ...... a whirlwind.\n\n7. ...... its whirlwind.\n\n8. ........... all.\n\n9. The foundations (of the earth were shaken?)\n\n10. The gods .......\n\n11. Thou didst bind and .....\n\n12. and they were bound (?) ....\n\n13. Thou protectedst .....\n\n14. A memorial of ........\n\n15. in supplication to Hea ....\n\n16. Illustrious memorial sacrifices ....\n\n17. Illustrious _tereti_ ......\n\n18. I collected; the children of the generals (I urged on).\n\n19. Seven against seven in breadth I arranged.\n\n20. I established the illustrious ordinances (?)\n\n21. I prayed to (the great) gods,\n\n22. Istar .... (Zamama, Anunit,)\n\n23. Nebo ... (and the Sun-god, the warrior,)\n\n24. the son (of the Moon-god, the gods who go before me).\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n(Several lines lost at commencement.)\n\n1. Thou O king, viceroy, shepherd, or any one else,\n\n2. whom God shall call to rule the kingdom,\n\n3. this tablet I made for thee, this record-stone I wrote for thee,\n\n4. in the city of Cutha, in the temple of Gallam,\n\n5. in the sanctuary of Nergal, I leave for thee;\n\n6. this record-stone see, and,\n\n7. to the words of this record-stone listen, and\n\n8. do not rebel, do not fail,\n\n9. do not fear, and do not curse.\n\n10. Thy foundation may he establish!\n\n11. As for thee, in thy works may he make splendour.\n\n12. Thy forts shall be strong,\n\n13. thy canals shall be full of water,\n\n14. thy papyri, thy corn, thy silver,\n\n15. thy furniture, thy goods,\n\n16. and thy instruments, shall be multiplied.\n\n(A few more mutilated lines.)\n\n[Illustration: SACRED TREE, ATTENDANT FIGURES AND EAGLE-HEADED MEN,\nFROM THE SEAL OF A SYRIAN CHIEF, NINTH CENTURY B.C.]\n\nThis is a very obscure inscription, the first column, however, forms\npart of a relation similar to that of Berosus in his history of the\nCreation; the beings who were killed by the light, and those with men\u2019s\nheads and bird\u2019s bodies, and bird\u2019s heads and men\u2019s bodies, agree\nwith the composite monsters of Berosus, while the goddess of chaos,\nTiamtu, who is over them, is the same as the Thalatth of the Greek\nwriter. It may be remarked that the doctrine of the Greek philosopher,\nAnaximander, that man has developed out of creatures of various shape,\nand once like the fish was an inhabitant of the water, is but a\nreminiscence of the old Babylonian legend.\n\nThe relation in the third column of the inscription is difficult, and\ndoes not correspond with any known incident. The fourth column contains\nan address to any future king who should read the inscription which\nwas deposited in the temple of Nergal at Cutha.\n\nIt is possible that this legend was supposed to be the work of one of\nthe mythical kings of Chaldea, who describes the condition and history\nof the world before his time.\n\nThe war carried on against the monstrous creations of Tiamtu, described\nin this myth, was but one version of the war waged against Tiamtu, or\nChaos, herself by the sun-god Merodach. The most famous form taken by\nthe story of this war was that which described the attack of the seven\nwicked spirits, or storm-demons, against the moon, and their final\ndiscomfiture by the bright power of day. This attack was a primitive\nattempt to account for lunar eclipses, dressed up in poetry, and may be\ncompared with the Chinese belief that when the moon is eclipsed it has\nbeen devoured by the dragon of night. Similarly the Egyptians told how\nSet or Typhon pursued the moon, the eye of Horus, how it waned week by\nweek as he struck it, and finally passed into eclipse when he blinded\nit altogether. According to Hindu legend, the immortal head of the\nserpent-demon R\u00e2hu, cut off by Vishnu who had been informed by the sun\nand moon of his theft of the drink of immortality, incessantly pursues\nthe two informers in order to devour them, and a Scandinavian myth\nmakes the sun and moon to be always pursued by two wolves, Sk\u00f6ll and\nHati, the latter of whom, also called M\u00e2nagarmr or dog of the moon,\nwill at the end of the times swallow up the chief luminary of night.\n\n\n_Tablet with the story of the Seven Wicked Spirits._\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. The recurring days[12] are the wicked gods.\n\n2. The rebellious spirits, who in the lower part of heaven\n\n3. had been created,\n\n4. wrought their evil work\n\n5. devising with wicked heads (at) sunset;\n\n6. (like) a sea-monster to the river (they marched).\n\n7. Among the seven of them the first was a scorpion (_or_ fiery sting)\nof rain.\n\n8. The second was a thunderbolt which no man could face.\n\n9. The third was a leopard ....\n\n10. The fourth was a serpent ....\n\n11. The fifth was a watch-dog which (rages) against (his foes).\n\n12. The sixth was a raging tempest which to god and king submits not.\n\n13. The seventh was the messenger of the evil wind which (Anu) made.\n\n14. The seven of them (are) messengers of the god Anu their king.\n\n15. In city after city they set their returning feet.\n\n16. The raging wind which (is) in heaven, fiercely hath been bound to\nthem.\n\n17. The fleecy rain-clouds (are they) which in heaven establish cloudy\ndarkness.\n\n18. The lightning of the tempest, the raging tempests which in the\nbright day\n\n19. establish gloom, are they.\n\n20. With evil tempest, baleful wind, they began:\n\n21. the storm of Rimmon, that was their might,\n\n22. at the right hand of Rimmon did they march;\n\n23. from the foundations of heaven like lightning (they darted),\n\n24. (like) a sea-monster to the river in front they marched.\n\n25. In the wide heavens the seat of Anu the king\n\n26. with evil purpose did they abide, and a rival they had not.\n\n27. Then Bel of this matter heard and\n\n28. the word sank into his heart.\n\n29. With Hea the supreme adviser of the gods he took counsel, and\n\n30. Sin (the moon), Samas (the sun), and Istar (Venus) in the lower\npart of heaven to direct it he had appointed.\n\n31. With Anu the lordship of the hosts of heaven he made them share.\n\n32. The three of them, those gods his children,\n\n33. night and day he had established; that they break not apart,\n\n34. he urged them.\n\n35. Then those seven, the evil gods,\n\n36. in the lower part of heaven commencing,\n\n37. before the light of Sin fiercely they came,\n\n38. the hero Samas and Rimmon (the god of the atmosphere) the warrior\nto their quarters returned and\n\n39. Istar with Anu the king a noble seat\n\n40. chooses and in the government of heaven is glorious.\n\n[Illustration: MERODACH DELIVERING THE MOON-GOD FROM THE EVIL SPIRITS;\nFROM A BABYLONIAN CYLINDER.]\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\nThe second column, which is much mutilated at the beginning, goes on to\ndescribe \u201cthe trouble\u201d of the moon-god, how \u201cnight and day in eclipse,\nin the seat of his dominion he sat not.\u201d But\n\n1. The wicked gods the messengers of Anu their king\n\n2. devising with wicked heads assisted one another.\n\n3. Evil they plotted together.\n\n4. From the midst of heaven like the wind on mankind they swooped.\n\n5. Bel the eclipse of the hero Sin\n\n6. in heaven saw and\n\n7. the god to his messenger the god Nusku (Nebo) said:\n\n8. \u201cMy messenger, Nebo, my word to the deep carry:\n\n9. the news of my son Sin who in heaven is grievously eclipsed\n\n10. to the god Hea in the deep repeat.\u201d Then\n\n11. Nebo the word of his lord obeyed, and\n\n12. to Hea in the deep descended and went.\n\n13. To the prince, the supreme councillor, the lord, the lord of\nmankind,\n\n14. Nebo the message of his lord in that quarter at once repeated.\n\n15. Hea in the deep that message heard, and\n\n28. his lips he bit, and with outcry his mouth he filled.\n\n29. Hea his son the god Merodach called, and the word he spake:\n\n30. \u201cGo, my son Merodach!\n\n31. the light of the sky, my son Sin, whom heaven is grievously\neclipsed,\n\n32. (in) his eclipse from heaven is departing.\n\n33. Those seven wicked gods, serpents[13] of death, having no fear,\n\n[Illustration: EAGLE-HEADED MAN. FROM NIMROUD SCULPTURE.]\n\n34. those seven wicked gods, who like a whirlwind\n\n35. (destroy) the life of mankind,\n\n36. against the earth like a storm they come down.\n\n37. In front of the bright one Sin fiercely they came,\n\n38. the hero Samas and Rimmon the warrior, to their quarters (returned),\n\n39. (Istar, with Anu the king, an illustrious seat chooses, and in the\ndominion of heaven is glorious).\n\nMost of the remainder of the legend, consisting of some forty lines, is\nunfortunately lost, owing to a fracture of the tablet. What is left,\nhowever, shows that Merodach, \u201cthe brilliance of the sun,\u201d for such is\nthe meaning of his name, who always appears in the Accadian hymns as a\nkind of Babylonian Prometheus and universal benefactor, comes to the\nhelp of the \u201clabouring\u201d moon, and \u201cawe\u201d goes before him. Dressed in\n\u201cglistening armour of unsoiled cloths and broad garments,\u201d he enters\n\u201cthe gate of the palace,\u201d \u201ca king, the son of his god, who, like the\nbright one, the moon-god, sustains the life of the land,\u201d and there\nwith a helmet of \u201clight like the fire\u201d upon his head, successfully\noverthrows the seven powers of darkness. The poem concludes with a\nprayer that they may never descend into the land, and traverse its\nborders.\n\nIn this story, which differs again from all the others, Bel is supposed\nto place in the heaven the Moon, Sun, and Venus, the representative of\nthe stars. The details have no analogy with the other stories, and this\ncan only be considered a poetical myth of the Creation.\n\nThis legend is part of the sixteenth tablet of the series on evil\nspirits; but the tablet contains other matters as well, the legend\napparently being only quoted in it. There is another remarkable legend\nof the same sort in praise of the fire-god, on another tablet of this\nseries published in \u201cCuneiform Inscriptions,\u201d vol. iv. p. 15. The\nwhole of this series concerns the wanderings of the god Merodach,\nwho goes about the world seeking to remove curses and spells, and in\nevery difficulty applying to his father Hea to learn how to combat the\ninfluence of the evil spirits, to whom all misfortunes were attributed.\n\nThe seven evil spirits illustrate well the way in which a moral\nsignification may come to be attached to what was originally a purely\nphysical myth. They are frequently mentioned in the literature of\nancient Accad. Thus the twenty-third book, on eclipses of the moon,\nof the great work on astronomy compiled for Sargon of Agan\u00e9, states\nthat: \u201cWhen the moon shall describe a section (in) the upper circle\n(of its revolution), the gods of heaven and earth bring about dearth\nof men (and) their overthrow; and (there is) eclipse, inundation,\nsickness, (and) death; the seven great spirits before the moon are\nbroken.\u201d Elsewhere, an Accadian hymn, which has an interlinear Assyrian\ntranslation attached to it, speaks as follows of these dreaded spirits:\u2014\n\n1. Seven (they) are, seven they (are).\n\n2. In the abyss of the deep seven they (are).\n\n3. The splendours of heaven (are) those seven.\n\n4. In the abyss of the deep, (in) a palace, (was) their growth.\n\n5. Male they (are) not, female they (are) not. [The Accadian text,\nin accordance with the respect paid to women in Accad, reverses this\norder.]\n\n6. As for them, the deep (is) their binder.\n\n7. Wife they have not, son is not born to them.\n\n8. Reverence (and) kindness know they not.\n\n9. Prayer and supplication hear they not.\n\n10. (Among) the thorns (?) on the mountain (was) their growth.\n\n11. To Hea are they foes.\n\n12. The throne-bearers of the gods (are) they.\n\n13. Destroying the roads on the paths are they set.\n\n14. Wicked (are) they, wicked (are) they;\n\n15. seven (are) they, seven (are) they, seven twice again (are) they.\n\nAnother Accadian poet, who lived at Eridu, the supposed site of\nParadise, at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, has left another\naccount of the Seven wicked spirits in the hymn to the fire-god\nmentioned above. He says of them:\u2014\n\n1. O god of fire, those seven how were they begotten, how grew they up?\n\n2. Those seven in the mountain of the sunset were born;\n\n3. those seven in the mountain of the sunrise grew up.\n\n4. In the deep places of the earth have they their dwelling.\n\n5. In the high places of the earth have they their name.\n\n6. As for them, in heaven and earth wide is their habitation.\n\n7. Among the gods their couch they have not.\n\n8. Their name in heaven (and) earth exists not.\n\n9. Seven they (are); in the mountain of the sunset do they rise.\n\n10. Seven they (are); in the mountain of the sunrise did they set.\n\n11. In the deep places of the earth did they rest their feet.\n\n12. On the high places of the earth do they lift up their head.\n\n13. As for them, goods they know not, in heaven (and) earth are they\nnot learned.\n\nMerodach is then ordered to fetch \u201cthe laurel, the baleful tree that\nbreaks in pieces the incubi, the name whereof Hea remembers in his\nheart, in the mighty enclosure, the girdle of Eridu,\u201d in order that the\nseven evil spirits may be driven away. Can this laurel-tree be the tree\nof the knowledge of good and evil? It must be remembered that Hea was\n\u201cthe lord of wisdom,\u201d and under the form of a fish as Oannes or _Hea\nKhan_ was supposed to have ascended from the Persian Gulf, and taught\nthe primitive Babylonians the elements of culture and civilization.\n\nAt the head of the seven evil spirits stood Tiamtu, the representative\nof chaos and darkness. One of the most remarkable Babylonian legends\nyet discovered is one which tells of the prim\u00e6val struggle between\nTiamtu and Merodach, between light and darkness or good and evil,\nand which does but embody in a new shape the conception which found\nexpression in the myth of the war against the moon. The tablets which\ncontain this legend are unfortunately in a very fragmentary condition.\n\nThe first of these is K 4832, too mutilated to translate; it contains\nspeeches of the gods before the war.\n\nThe second fragment, K 3473, contains also speeches, and shows the gods\npreparing for battle. It is so terribly broken that translation is\nimpossible, and all that can be made out is a line here and there.\n\nThe third fragment, K 3938, is on the same subject; some lines of this\ngive the following general meaning:\u2014\n\n1. winged thunderbolts ....\n\n2. fear he made to carry ....\n\n3. their sight very great (?) ....\n\n4. their bodies may he destroy and ....\n\n5. he raised; it was suitable, the strong serpent ....\n\n6. Udgallum, Urbat[14] and the god ....\n\n7. days arranged, five (?) ....\n\n8. carrying weapons unyielding ....\n\n9. her breast, her back ....\n\n10. flowing (?) and first ....\n\n11. among the gods collected ....\n\n12. the god Kingu subdued ....\n\n13. marching in front before ....\n\n14. carrying weapons thou ...\n\n15. upon war ....\n\n16. his hand appointed ....\n\nThere are many more similar broken lines, and on the other side\nfragments of a speech by some being who desires Tiamtu to make war.\n\nAll these fragments are not sufficiently complete to allow us to\ntranslate them with certainty, or even to ascertain their order.\n\nThe fourth fragment, K 3449, relates to the making of weapons to arm\nthe god who should meet in war the dragon.\n\nThis reads with some doubt on account of its mutilation:\n\n1. The scimitar he had made the gods saw\n\n2. and they saw also the bow how it had been stored up.\n\n3. The work he had wrought (on his shoulder)\n\n4. he raised and Anu in the assembly of the gods\n\n5. kissed the bow; it (he addressed),\n\n6. and he spake of the bow thus (and said)\n\n7. The illustrious wood I have drawn out once and twice,\n\n8. thrice also, her punishment the star of the bow in heaven (shall\neffect)\n\n9. and I have made (it) the protection (of mankind).\n\n10. From the choice of ....\n\n11. and place his throne ....\n\n[Illustration: BEL ENCOUNTERING THE DRAGON; FROM BABYLONIAN CYLINDER.]\n\nThe next fragment or collection of fragments gives the final struggle\nbetween Tiamtu and Bel Merodach. The _saparu_, or sickle-shaped sword,\nis always represented both in the sculptures and inscriptions as a\nweapon of Bel Merodach in this war.\n\n\nSixth Fragment.\n\n1. .... he fixed it ....\n\n2. the weapon with his right hand he took\n\n3. .... and the quiver from his hand he hung,\n\n4. and he hurled the lightning before him,\n\n5. heat filled his body.\n\n6. He made also the scimitar (to produce) calm in the midst of the sea\n(Tiamtu).\n\n7. The four winds he imprisoned that they might come forth from its\ncalm,\n\n8. the South, the North, the East, and the West winds.\n\n9. His hand caused the scimitar to approach the bow of his father Anu.\n\n10. He created the evil wind, the hostile wind, the tempest, the storm,\n\n11. the four winds, the seven winds, the whirlwind, the unceasing wind.\n\n12. He sent forth also the winds he had created, seven of them;\n\n13. into the midst of the sea (Tiamtu) they were launched to disturb,\nthey came after him.\n\n14. He lifted up the weapon, the thunderbolt, his mighty weapon;\n\n15. in a chariot that sweeps away all in front, which gives rest, he\nrode.\n\n16. He fixed it and four yoke-thongs on its pole he hung,\n\n17. .... the unyielding, the overwhelming, he that pursues her.\n\n18. .... with their sting bringing poison\n\n19. .... sweeping away knowledge (?)\n\n20. .... destruction and fighting.\n\n(Several other fragmentary lines.)\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. Unprevailing (is) thy troop; may thy arms strike their bodies!\n\n2. I also stand firm, and with thee make battle.\n\n3. Tiamtu (the sea) on hearing this\n\n4. as before used spells, she changed her resolution.\n\n5. Tiamtu also raised herself; warily she ascended.\n\n6. At the roots fully she grounded (her) foundations.\n\n7. She told over the spell; she determined return (to chaos),\n\n8. and the gods for the war asked for themselves their weapons.\n\n9. Then Tiamtu attacked the prince of the gods, Merodach,\n\n10. who had made charms as for combat for the conflict in battle.\n\n11. Then Bel made sharp his scimitar; he smote her.\n\n12. The evil wind that seizes behind from before him fled.\n\n13. And Tiamtu opened her mouth to swallow him.\n\n14. The evil wind he made to descend so that she could not close her\nlips;\n\n15. the force of the wind her stomach filled, and\n\n16. she was sickened in heart, and her mouth it distorted.\n\n17. She bit the shaft (of the sword); her stomach failed;[15]\n\n18. her inside it cut asunder, it conquered the heart;\n\n19. it consumed her, and her life it ended.\n\n20. Her death he completed, over her he fixes (it).\n\n21. When Tiamat their leader he had conquered,\n\n22. her ranks he broke, her assembly was scattered;\n\n23. and the gods her helpers who went beside her\n\n24. returned in fear, they fled back behind them.\n\n25. They fled and feared for their life.\n\n26. They are companions in flight, powerless.\n\n27. He trampled on them and their weapons he broke.\n\n28. Like a scimitar are they laid, and as in darkness they sat.\n\n29. (They seek) their quarters, they are full of grief;\n\n30. what was left they take away, they pull back like a rope,\n\n[Illustration: MERODACH, OR BEL, ARMED FOR THE CONFLICT WITH THE\nDRAGON; FROM ASSYRIAN CYLINDER.]\n\n31. and elevenfold offspring from fear they produce\n\n32. (Through) the flood the demons go (all of them?).\n\n33. He laid the hostility, his hand ....\n\n34. part of their opposition under him ....\n\n35. and the god Kingu again ....\n\nAgain the main difficulty arises from the fragmentary state of the\ndocuments, it being impossible even to decide the order of the\nfragments. It appears, however, that the gods have fashioned for them a\nscimitar and a bow to fight the dragon Tiamtu, and Anu proclaims great\nhonour (fourth fragment, lines 7 to 11) to any of the gods who will\nengage in battle with her. Bel or Merodach volunteers, and goes forth\narmed with these weapons to fight the dragon. Tiamtu is encouraged\nby one of the gods who has become her husband, and meets Merodach in\nbattle. The description of the fight and the subsequent triumph of the\ngod are very fine, and remarkably curious in their details, but the\nconnection between the fragments is so uncertain at present that it is\nbetter to reserve comment upon them until the text is more complete.\nThe scimitar with which Merodach is armed is shown by the cylinders and\nbas-reliefs to have been of the shape of a sickle, and is therefore\nthe same as the _harp\u00ea_ or _khereb_ with which the Greek hero Perseus\nwas armed when he went forth to fight against the dragon of the sea\nat Joppa. The dragon itself, according to the representations of the\nmonuments, was a composite monster, with the tail, horns, claws, and\nwings of the medi\u00e6val devil. The whole war between the powers of good\nand evil, chaos and order, finds its parallel in the war between\nMichael and the dragon in Revelation xii. 7 to 9, where the dragon is\ncalled \u201cthe great dragon, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan,\nwhich deceiveth the whole world.\u201d This description is strikingly like\nthe impression gathered from the fragments of the cuneiform story; the\ndragon Tiamtu who fought against the gods, and whose fate it was to be\nconquered in a celestial war, closely corresponds in all essential\npoints with the dragon conquered by Michael. That the dragon originally\nsymbolized the sea is one proof out of many that the Accadians were a\nseafaring people, well acquainted with the terrors of the deep, when\nthe waves conspire with the storm-clouds, those seven evil spirits, to\nthrow all nature once more into its primeval anarchy.\n\n[Illustration: FIGHT BETWEEN BEL AND THE DRAGON, FROM BABYLONIAN\nCYLINDER.]\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[12] The seven _mustakridh\u00e2t_ of Syria, the seven days between February\nthe 25th and March 3rd, when evil spirits are supposed to have special\npower.\n\n[13] This is the Assyrian translation. The Accadian original has simply\n\u201cmen of death.\u201d The lightnings are still regarded as serpents by the\nCanadian Indians who call the thunder their hissing (Baring-Gould,\n\u201cCurious Myths,\u201d ii. p. 146).\n\n[14] A constellation which rose heliacally in Marchesvan or October.\nThe word means \u201cDog of death.\u201d\n\n[15] Compare Jer. li. 34.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE SIN OF THE GOD ZU.\n\n God Zu.\u2014Obscurity of legend.\u2014Translation.\u2014Sin of Zu.\u2014Anger of the\n gods.\u2014Speeches of Anu to Rimmon.\u2014Rimmon\u2019s answer.\u2014Speech of Anu\n to Nebo.\u2014Answer of Nebo.\u2014Lugal-turda.\u2014Changes to a bird.\u2014The Zu\n bird.\u2014Bird of prey.\u2014Lugal-turda lord of Amarda.\u2014Prometheus.\n\n\nAmong the legends of the gods, companion stories to the accounts of the\nCreation and Deluge, one of the most curious is the legend of the sin\ncommitted by the god Zu.\n\nThis legend stands quite alone, its incidents and its principal actor\nbeing otherwise almost unknown from cuneiform sources. Only one copy\nof the story has at present been detected, and this is in so mutilated\na condition that it cannot be connected with any other of the legends.\nIt belongs to the same cycle of myths as the myth of the exploits of\nDibbara, which will be given in the next chapter.\n\nThe principal actor in the legend is a god named Zu, the name being\nfound in all the three cases of an Assyrian noun Zu, Za, and Zi.\nAnalogy would lead us to infer that the name had been borrowed by the\nAssyrians from the Accadians, as well as the story with which it is\nconnected.\n\nMr. Smith compared the legend with that of the mutilation of Uranus\nby his son Kronus, and with the history of the outrage of Ham on his\nfather Noah; but its real analogue is the myth of Prometheus, the\nbenefactor of men, who stole the fire of heaven for their sake, and\nbrought upon himself the anger and punishment of Zeus. It contains two\ndifficult words, _partsi_ and _tereti_. The first is ambiguous, meaning\neither \u201coracles\u201d or \u201cshrines,\u201d but since it is coupled with _dup-simi_,\n\u201ctablets of destiny,\u201d it is probably to be rendered \u201coracles.\u201d _Tereti_\nis very obscure. The sun-god is called \u201cthe lord of _tereti_\u201d and the\nword occurs in the hymn to the Creator, Rev. 17 (p. 79), where also it\nis united with _partsi_, \u201ccommand\u201d or \u201coracle.\u201d It may signify \u201clots.\u201d\nThe tablets of destiny, stolen by Zu, for the benefit, apparently, of\nmankind, formed the vault of the palace of the under-world. We may\ncompare the books which are to be opened on the day of judgment in Dan.\nvii. 10, and Rev. xx. 12.\n\nThe tablet containing the account of the sin of Zu, K 3454, in the\nMuseum collection, originally contained four columns of text, each\ncolumn having about sixty lines of writing. The first and fourth\ncolumns are almost entirely lost, there not being enough anywhere to\ntranslate from. The mutilation of the text seriously adds to the\ndifficulties of translation.\n\nThe single fragment preserved, belonging to the first column, mentions\nsome being who was the seed or firstborn of Bel, with a number of\ntitles, such as \u201cwarrior, soldier of the temple of Bel,\u201d and the name\nof the god Zu occurs, but not so as to prove these titles to be his.\n\nThe following is a partial translation of the remains of this tablet:\u2014\n\n\nK. 3454.\n\nCOLUMN I. lost.\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. .... of the gods all of them he urged on.\n\n2. ........ the image, Zu grew old (and)\n\n3. Zu? like .... Bel seized his heel.\n\n4. Three streams? of water in front also\n\n5. the work of Bel in ........ he dreams of (_or_ ponders) in himself.\n\n6. The crown of his majesty, the clothing of his divinity,\n\n7. the tablets of destiny, himself, Zu, he dreams of, and\n\n8. he dreams that he is the father of the gods also, the protector of\nheaven and earth.\n\n9. The desire to be Bel is taken in his heart,\n\n10. Zu dreams that he is also the father of the gods, the protector of\nheaven and earth.\n\n11. The desire to be Bel is taken in his heart:\n\n12. Let me too seize the tablets of destiny of the gods,\n\n13. and the _tereti_ of the gods all of them let me kindle,\n\n14. may my throne also be established, let me lift up the oracles,\n\n15. let me urge on the whole of all of them, even the angels.\n\n16. So he lifted up his heart in opposition,\n\n17. in the lower part of the forest where he was dreaming he kept his\nhead away from the day.\n\n18. When Bel pours out the bright waters,\n\n19. spread out also on the throne his crown was placed,\n\n20. the tablets of doom his hand took,\n\n21. the attributes of Bel he seized, he laid hold of the oracles.\n\n22. Zu fled away and a rugged mountain concealed (him).\n\n23. He spread darkness, and made a commotion (?).\n\n24. The father, their king, the ruler Bel\n\n25. ..... outpoured the glory of the gods.\n\n26. .........\n\n27. Anu his mouth opened, he speaks\n\n28. and says to the gods his sons:\n\n29. Whoever will, let him slay Zu, and\n\n30. among all men may his name be renowned.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n31. (To Rimmon) the powerful firstborn the son of Anu\n\n32. his will also to him he declares:\n\n33. To Rimmon the powerful firstborn the son of Anu\n\n34. his will to him he declares.\n\n35. (O mighty) Rimmon, companion, may thy power of fighting never fail.\n\n36. (Slay) Zu with thy weapon.\n\n37. (May thy name) be renowned in the assembly of the great gods,\n\n38. .... a rival have thy brothers\n\n39. may they supply and build of brick (thy) altars,\n\n40. in the four regions may they establish thy stronghold.\n\n41. May thy stronghold be exalted to become a shrine.\n\n42. They shall cry (?) in the presence of the gods and blessed be thy\nname.\n\n43. Rimmon answered the speech,\n\n44. to his father Anu a word he speaks;\n\n45. My father, to an impenetrable mountain do thou consign (him).\n\n46. Let Zu never associate among the gods thy sons.\n\n47. The tablets of destiny his hand took;\n\n48. the attributes of Bel he seized, laying hold of the oracles,\n\n49. Zu fled away and a rugged mountain concealed (him).\n\n50. .... the opening of (his) mouth\n\n51. ........ like mud\n\n52. .... the gods sweep away\n\n53. .... I will not go he said.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n(Sixteen lines lost here, part on this column, part on Column III.)\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. Zu fled away and a rugged mountain concealed (him).\n\n2. .... the opening of his mouth ... the protector of heaven and earth\n\n3. ........ like mud\n\n4. .... the gods sweep away\n\n5. .... I will not go he said.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n6. To Nebo the powerful .... the eldest son of Istar,\n\n7. (Anu his will) to him also declares:\n\n8. O mighty Nebo, companion, may thy power of fighting never fail!\n\n9. (Slay) Zu with thy weapon.\n\n10. May (thy name) be renowned in the assembly of the great gods,\n\n11. ..... among the gods thy brothers a rival have (?)\n\n12. May they supply and build (thy) altars;\n\n13. in the four regions may they establish thy stronghold.\n\n14. May thy stronghold be exalted to become a shrine.\n\n15. They shall cry (?) in the presence of the gods and blessed be thy\nname.\n\n16. Nebo answered the speech,\n\n17. to his father Anu a word he speaks:\n\n18. My father, to a trackless mountain do thou consign him.\n\n19. Let Zu never associate with the gods thy sons.\n\n20. The tablets of destiny his hand took,\n\n21. the attributes of Bel he seized, laying hold of the oracles.\n\n22. Zu fled away and a rugged mountain concealed him.\n\n23. .... the opening of his mouth ... the protector of heaven and earth\n\nThe rest, including Column IV., is lost.\n\nSuch are the fragments of the story so far as they can be translated at\npresent. The divine Zu here mentioned, whose sin is spoken of, is never\ncounted among the gods, and there would be no clue to his nature were\nit not for a curious tablet printed in \u201cCuneiform Inscriptions,\u201d vol.\niv. p. 14, which throws light on his origin and character. This tablet\ngives the following curious relation:\n\n1. The god Lugal-turda (the valiant king) [fled] to the mountains, a\nplace remote;\n\n2. in the mountains of Sabu [he dwelt].\n\n3. No mother gave him life[16] or (suckled him).\n\n4. No father gave him life or with him (associated).\n\n5. No noble who knew him (helped him).\n\n6. Of the resolution of his heart the resolution he (changed) not.\n\n7. In his own heart the resolution (he kept).\n\n8. Into the likeness of a bird was he transformed;\n\n9. into the likeness of the divine storm bird (or Zu bird) was he\ntransformed.\n\n10. The face of his wife who has faced?\n\n11. The wife of the Divine Zu bird, the son of the divine Zu bird,\n\n12. in companionship he made sit.\n\n13. The goddess Enna, the lady of Tigenna,\n\n14. in the mountain he brought back.\n\n15. A woman fashioned was her mother according to likeness made,\n\n16. the goddess of perfumes a woman fashioned was her mother according\nto likeness made.\n\n17. Her hair was white crystal;\n\n18. Her navel was pure with silver and gold,\n\n19. brightness was fixed in the womb;\n\n20. in the womb dwelt perfection (?).\n\nMany lines are lost here, and the story recommences on reverse.\n\n1. .... a turban he placed on his head\n\n2. (when) from the nest of the god Zu he came.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nThis Zu bird is plainly the same as the god Zu of the former legend,\nand his nature is shown by a passage in the annals of Assur-nazir-pal\n(\u201cCuneiform Inscriptions,\u201d vol. i.\u202fp. 22, col. ii. l. 107), who says\nthat his warriors \u201clike the divine Zu bird upon them darted.\u201d This bird\nis called the cloud or storm-bird, the flesh-eating bird, the lion or\ngiant bird, the bird of prey, the bird with sharp beak; and it is not\ndifficult to see what the deified bird really was. It was clearly the\nstorm-cloud, which appears in Aryan folklore under the varying forms\nof the eagle, the woodpecker, and the robin redbreast, the bird of\nThor; while in Chinese mythology the storm-bird is described as \u201ca\nbird which, in flying, obscures the sun, and of whose quills are made\nwater-tuns.\u201d The roc of the \u201cArabian Nights,\u201d with its wings of ten\nthousand fathoms in width, and its egg, which it was a sin in Aladdin\nto wish to take from the place where it hung, is but an echo of the\nChinese storm-bird; and the identity of the Chaldean Zu with the latter\nis demonstrated by its Accadian name, which signifies \u201cthe bird of the\ndivine storm-cloud.\u201d Just as Prometheus brought the lightning from\nheaven to earth, and suffered the penalty of enchainment to a desert\nrock, so, too, the storm-bird of Accad stole the secrets of the gods,\nand was punished by exile from them, and transformation into a bird.\nWhen once the storm-cloud had been likened to a bird, it was easy\nenough to identify it with an actual bird of similar name which swooped\nupon its prey with sharp beak. That the lightning which darted from\nthe bosom of the black tempest really formed the tablets of destiny\nwas a ready conclusion to a people who read the future in the message\nsent through the lightning from heaven to earth. Even the Hebrews saw\nin the thunder \u201cthe voice of God.\u201d Lugal-turda, it may be added, was\nthe patron of the city of Amarda or Marad, and is said to have been the\ndeity worshipped by Izdubar.\n\nIn the story of the offence of Zu there is another instance of the\nvariations which constantly occur in the Assyrian inscriptions with\nrespect to the relationship of the gods. Nebo is usually called son of\nMerodach, but in this inscription he is called son of Anu. The part\nthat he plays in it is due to the fact that he was identified with the\n\u201cmeridian sun.\u201d\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[16] This is the reading of the original Accadian text. The Assyrian\ntranslation has, \u201cwas his establisher.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE EXPLOITS OF DIBBARA.\n\n Dibbara.\u2014God of Pestilence.\u2014Itak.\u2014The Plague.\u2014Seven warrior\n gods.\u2014Destruction of people.\u2014Anu.\u2014Goddess of Karrak.\u2014Speech of\n Bel.\u2014Sin and destruction of Babylonians.\u2014Samas.\u2014Sin and destruction\n of Erech.\u2014Istar.\u2014The great god and Duran.\u2014Cutha.\u2014Internal wars.\u2014Itak\n goes to Syria.\u2014Power and glory of Dibbara.\u2014Song of Dibbara.\u2014Blessings\n on his worship.\u2014God Ner.\u2014Prayer to arrest the Plague.\u2014Antiquity of the\n legend.\u2014Itak.\n\n\nThe tablets recording this story are five in number, but a few\nfragments only of them have as yet been found. From the indications\npresented by these fragments the first four tablets seem each to have\nhad four columns of writing, while the fifth tablet was a smaller one\nof two columns containing the remainder of the story.\n\nThe god whose exploits are principally recorded was the leader of the\nplague-demons, and bears the name of Dibbara. He has the title of\n\u201cthe darkening one,\u201d which recalls the passage in Psalm xci. 6, \u201cthe\npestilence that walketh in darkness.\u201d\n\nHe has a companion deity named Itak who marches before him, and seven\ngods who follow him in his destructive course. The latter are the seven\nevil spirits in a new form.\n\nThe point of the story in these tablets appears to be, that the people\nof the world had offended Anu the god of heaven, and accordingly that\ndeity ordered Dibbara to go forth and strike the people with the pest.\nIt is evident here that exactly the same views prevailed in Babylonia\nas among the Jews, visitations from pestilence or famine being always\nsupposed to be sent by the deity in punishment for some sin. In fact,\nthe account of the pestilence inflicted upon the Israelites on account\nof David\u2019s sin in numbering the people is a striking parallel to the\nAccadian legend which follows. The angel of the pestilence seen by\nDavid, with his sword drawn, may be compared with Dibbara, the Accadian\npersonification of the pest.\n\nThe whole of this series of tablets may be described as a poetical\npicture of the destruction caused by a plague, sweeping over district\nafter district, and destroying everything before it.\n\nThe fragment which appears to come first in the series is a very\nmutilated portion of a tablet, containing parts of three columns of\nwriting. Only a fragment of the first column is perfect enough to\ntranslate, and the characters on this are so worn that the translation\ncannot be other than doubtful. It seems to read\n\n1. Against the paling he struck and ....\n\n2. the fifth time he smote (?) above and below seeking .....\n\n3. seven ......\n\n4. The words of the account of the seven gods all of them Anu had heard.\n\n5. He .... them also to Dibbara the warrior of the gods: May thy hands\ngo\n\n5(sic.). whenever the people of the nations their shame [_or_ alliance]\nhave destroyed.\n\n7. I have set thy heart also to make darkness.\n\n8. The people of the black heads to ruin thou shalt strike with the\ndesolation of the god Ner;\n\n9. may thy weapons (overthrow) them, and may thy hands go.\n\n10. As for them ..... their weapons.\n\n11. He said to Dibbara: ......\n\nThe speech of Anu which follows is written in characters so broken and\nindistinct as to make any attempt at translation impossible.\n\nThe next fragment is of a different character, but appears from its\nstyle to belong to the same series.\n\n1. .... he ....\n\n2. .. spake to him and he explained (?) ....\n\n3. .. spake to him and he learned (?) ....\n\n4. Anu at the doing of Hea shouted for joy and ....\n\n5. the gods of heaven and earth as many as exist whosoever thus\nanswered;\n\n6. his command which was like the command of Anu whosoever appointed\n\n7. .... extending from the horizon of heaven to the top of heaven\n\n8. .... he looked and his fear he saw\n\n9. .... Anu who .... over him .... made\n\n10. .... of Hea his calamity (?) made\n\n11. .... a fierce lord to later days to ....\n\n12. .... seed of mankind\n\n13. .... triumphantly the net (?) .. he broke\n\n14. .... to heaven he had ascended, she thus\n\n15. .... 4,021 people he had placed\n\n16. .... the illness which was on the body of the people he had placed\n\n17. .... the illness the goddess of Karrak made to cease.\n\nThe next portion of the legend is a considerable part of one of the\ntablets, probably the fourth, all four columns of writing being\nrepresented. There are many curious points in this tablet, beside the\nspecial purpose of the legend, such as the peoples enumerated in the\nfourth column, the action of the gods of the various cities, &c.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. Bel .... his yokes and\n\n2. (in his) heart he says:\n\n3. Dibbara is crouching at his gate, among the corpses of chiefs and\nslaves;\n\n4. Dibbara is crouching at his gate; thou knowest his seat.\n\n5. Babylon their foes besieged, and\n\n6. their curse art thou.\n\n7. To the floor thou didst trample them and thou didst make a passage,\n\n8. O warrior Dibbara.\n\n9. Thou didst leave the land, thou didst go forth against others;\n\n10. the destruction of the nobles wast thou made, and thou didst\ndescend into the palace.\n\n11. The people also saw thee; their weapons were shattered.\n\n12. The high priest the avenger of Babylon sets his heart,\n\n13. when the ranks of the enemies to spoil he urges on his soldiers.\n\n14. Before the face of the people they did evil.\n\n15. To that city whither I shall send thee, thou a man\n\n16. shalt not fear, shalt not respect a man.\n\n17. Small and great as one man cast down and\n\n18. of that evil race thou shalt not save any one.\n\n19. The collection of the goods of Babylon thou spoilest;\n\n20. the people of the king (which) is gathered together, and entered\ninto the city,\n\n21. shaking the bow, planting the sword (?)\n\n22. of the soldiers the help, the transgression (transgressors) against\nAnu and Dagon,\n\n23. their weapons thou plantest,\n\n24. their corpses like the pouring down of rain thou dost cast down in\nthe streets of the city,\n\n25. and their treasures (?) thou openest, and dost sweep into the river.\n\n26. The spell Merodach saw and angrily (?) spoke,\n\n27. his heart was taken,\n\n28. an unsparing curse in his mouth was formed,\n\n29. .... the river he did not ....\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\nMany lines lost.\n\n1. .... that city which the lord of the earth ...\n\n2. a whirlwind he did not (make) ....\n\n3. without Samas his tower thou crossest, the land thou givest (?)\n\n4. of Erech the seat of Anu and Istar,\n\n5. the city of (the handmaids) Samkhati and Kharimati, the choirs of\n\n6. Istar. Death they fear (and) they are delivered into thy hands (?).\n\n7. The Suti (Arab nomads) with the Suti are placed in ....\n\n8. they are slain; the temple of Anu the priests, the festival makers,\n\n9. who, to make the people of Istar worship, their manhood devoted,\n\n10. carrying swords, carrying razors, _dupe_, and knives,\n\n11. who to rejoice the glory of Istar trusted,\n\n12. O fierce high priest, the bowing-down of the face over them thou\nhast made.\n\n13. Their foundations also, their shrines ....\n\n14. Istar cried out and was troubled over the city of Erech,\n\n15. the enemy she strikes and like corn on the face of the waters she\nscatters.\n\n16. Dwelling in his .... Bit-Parra ....\n\n17. ... she rests not from the war.\n\n18. The enemy whom thou hast stricken obeys not ....\n\n19. The great god answered the speech:\n\n20. The city of Duran to streams of blood ....\n\n21. the people who dwell in the midst of it like reeds (are trembling);\n\n22. .... before the waters their alliance ....\n\n23. and ... thou dost not ....\n\n24. to the Suti ........\n\n25. I in my city Duran judge uprightly\n\n26. I do not ........\n\n27. evil (?) I do not give and ....\n\n28. the upright people I leave ....\n\nFive other broken lines.\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\nMany lines lost.\n\n1. .... the house he had built ....\n\n2. this he did, and I ....\n\n3. the day he brought me my fate I ....\n\n4. him, his camp (?) also he caused to destroy ..\n\n5. Afterwards may they destroy, and to another\n\n6. O warrior Dibbara, the established also in Gutium,\n\n7. the unestablished also in Gutium,\n\n8. who sin against thee also in Gutium,\n\n9. who do not sin against thee also in Gutium,\n\n10. .... the destroyer (?) of the clothes of the god of Gutium,\n\n11. .... the mover of the head of the king.\n\nTwo other mutilated lines.\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. May the planet Mercury cause his splendour to wane;\n\n2. to his resolutions (?) is he bound:\n\n3. he rejoices not the mouth of his (worshippers)\n\n4. who the structure .......\n\n5. to the seat of the king of the gods may he urge and ....\n\n6. The warrior Dibbara heard it also,\n\n7. the word (which) the god Itak spake to him ..\n\n8. and thus spake the warrior Dibbara:\n\n9. Sea against sea, Subartu (Syria) against Subartu, Assyria against\nAssyria,\n\n10. Elam against Elam,\n\n11. Koss\u00e6an against Koss\u00e6an,\n\n12. Sutu against Sutu,\n\n13. Gutium against Gutium,\n\n14. Lullubu against Lullubu,\n\n15. country against country, house against house, man against man,\n\n16. brother against brother also, may they destroy each other,\n\n17. and afterwards may Accad come and\n\n18. the whole of them destroy, and fight against them.\n\n19. The warrior Dibbara to Itak who goes before him a word speaks:\n\n20. Go also Itak, in the word thou hast spoken do according to all thy\nheart.\n\n21. Itak against the land of Khikhi (Ph\u0153nicia) set his face,\n\n22. and the seven warrior gods unequalled\n\n23. marched after him.\n\n24. To the country of Khikhi to the mountains the warrior went,\n\n25. his hand he also lifted and destroyed the land,\n\n26. the land of Khikhi he counted as his own country.\n\nThe next fragments of the story are on a mutilated copy of the last\ntablet, K. 1282. This tablet, as has been before stated, is only a\nsmaller supplemental one to include the end of the story, which could\nnot be written on the fourth tablet.\n\n\nK. 1282.\n\nObverse.\n\n1. From Dibbara ....\n\n2. the gods all of them ....\n\n3. the angels and spirits all ....\n\n4. Dibbara his mouth opened and ....\n\n5. a voice also the whole of you ....\n\n6. I also in the first sin ....\n\n7. in heart I cried out and ....\n\n8. like a flock of sheep may ....\n\n9. without the planting of boundaries against ...\n\n10. like the spoiling of the country steadfast and ..\n\n11. in the mouth of the high noble ....\n\n12. and the place ....\n\nFifteen lines much broken here.\n\n28. .... the land of Accad its strength ....\n\n29. May one slay seven like ....\n\n30. his cities to ruins and mounds thou dost reduce ....\n\n31. his great spoil thou dost spoil, to the midst of ....\n\n32. the gods of the country .... thou removest afar off ....\n\n33. the god Ner and the God Serakh thou directedst ....\n\n34. the countries their productions, the sea thou ..\n\n35. its interior they destroyed ....\n\nFour mutilated lines here.\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. For years untold the glory of the great lord the god ....\n\n2. When Dibbara had cried out and to sweep the countries ....\n\n3. had set his face\n\n4. Itak his adviser had quieted him and stayed ...\n\n5. gathering together his forces to the glorious one of the gods,\nMerodach the son of (Hea).\n\n6. In the hour of night he sent him, and when in the year ....\n\n7. Not any one ....\n\n8. .... and sent not down against ....\n\n9. his .... also Dibbara received before ....\n\n10. .... Itak who goes before him, the illustrious god ....\n\n11. are all of them laid with him.\n\n12. Any one who speaks of the warrior Dibbara\n\n13. and that song shall glorify, in his place thou wilt keep (his)\ncanals,\n\n14. .... never may he fall (?) ....\n\n15. the heavens have caused the borders of (his) regions to increase.\n\n16. Whoever the glory of my heroism shall recount,\n\n17. an adversary never may he have.\n\n18. The musician who shall sing, shall not die by the chastisement;\n\n19. higher than king and prince may that man ascend.\n\n20. The tablet writer who studies it (and) flees from the hostile,\nshall be great in the land.\n\n21. If in the places of the people, the established place, my name they\nproclaim,\n\n22. their ears I open.\n\n23. In the house, the place where their goods are placed, if I Dibbara\nam angry\n\n24. may the seven gods turn him aside,\n\n25. may the chastising sword not touch him whose face thou establishest.\n\n26. That song for ever may they establish and may they fix the part ....\n\n27. may all the world hear, and glorify my heroism;\n\n28. may the men of all nations see, and exalt my name.\n\nFifth tablet of the exploits of the god (Dibbara).\n\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nHere we see a picture of Oriental feeling with reference to natural\nphenomenon or disaster to mankind. It is supposed that some deity or\nangel stands with a sword over the devoted people and sweeps them into\neternity.\n\nThe first fragment shows the anger of Anu at the sin of some doomed\nrace, and his command to Dibbara to take his weapon, slay the people,\nand desolate the land like the god Ner. This god Ner was one of the\nmythical kings of Babylon who reigned after the flood, and is mentioned\nas having a terrible name and being with Etana a dweller in Hades. The\nallusion to him in this passage seems to imply that he was believed to\nhave once rescued Babylon from a hostile attack.\n\nThe next fragment exhibits the goddess of Karrak as healing the illness\nof some of the people, 4,102 being mentioned as struck with disease.\n\nIn the next and largest fragment the story becomes a little more\nconnected; it commences with a description of preparation for battle,\nand goes on through speeches and actions to describe the course of\nDibbara and his plague that he inflicts upon Babylon, and its besiegers\nwhere he spares neither chief nor slave, and enters even the palace.\nIt would seem that the sin of the Babylonians arose from the chief\npriest or governor of the city arming the troops and sending them out\nto plunder the enemy. For this the plague is sent, and its progress\nis graphically described. Merodach the special protector of Babylon\nat last interferes, and the god of pestilence is checked in his\ncourse. The next city visited belongs to Samas, being either Larsa, or\nSippara, and then the plague reaches Erech. The character of this city\nis described, the worship of Venus, with her handmaids Samkhati and\nKharimati, or \u201cJoy\u201d and \u201cSeduction,\u201d the priests and ceremonies, and\nthe progress of the plague over the place. Then the great god the deity\nof Duran comes forward and pleads for his city, calling to mind its\nuprightness and justice, and praying for its exemption from the plague.\n\nIn the third column mention is made of Gutium, under which name the\nAccadians designated the whole tract of country which extended from\nthe Tigris to the eastern borders of Media, including the district\nafterwards known as Assyria. The land of Nizir, in which rose the\nmountain of Elwend, on the top of which the Accadians supposed the\nark to have rested, also formed part of this vast tract. Sir Henry\nRawlinson long ago pointed out that Gutium must be the Goyim of the\n14th chapter of Genesis, ruled by Tidal, or rather, according to the\nreading of the Septuagint, Tur-gal \u201cthe great Son.\u201d\n\nThe fourth column next describes a prophecy of Dibbara that there\nshould be internal war among the peoples of the Persian Gulf, of\nSyria, Assyria, Elam, Gutium, Lullubu and the Koss\u00e6ans, from all which\ntroubles benefit should come to the Accadians or northern Babylonians.\nThe Koss\u00e6ans or Cassi inhabited the northern part of Elam, and under\nKhammuragas conquered Babylonia and founded there a dynasty which\nlasted a long time. Lullubu lay northward of Mesopotamia and Nizir.\n\nThen according to his wish Dibbara sends the god Itak his servant, with\nthe seven warrior gods, to devastate, and Itak sweeps over the country\nand destroys it.[17]\n\nThe last tablet deals in generalities pointing out the action of\nDibbara when his praise was neglected, and telling all the glories\nand good that should come to those who should celebrate this deity in\nsong. On the spread of a plague it is evident that the Babylonians had\nno better means of arresting it than to pray and praise the supposed\nterrible deity of the scourge, that he might sheathe his sword of anger.\n\nThe antiquity of the legend is evident from the geographical names\nwhich occur in it. A geographical list which seems based on an Accadian\noriginal is the only other document which speaks of Ph\u0153nicia, or rather\na part of Ph\u0153nicia, under the name of Khikhi; and the fact that no\nreference is made to the Hittites shows that the poem is earlier than\nthe sixteenth century B.C., when the Hittites first rose into power\nin western Asia. Subartu is derived from the Accadian _subar_ \u201chigh,\u201d\napplied by the Accadians to the highlands of Aram or Syria.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[17] Itak had his worshippers as well as Dibbara. Thus an Accadian\nseal in the possession of Dr. Huggins bears a legend stating that it\nbelonged to \u201cRuru-lukh, the servant of Itak, the street-traverser.\u201d The\ngod is represented on this seal as a man in a flounced dress, to whom\na kid is being offered, and is symbolized by two animals one of which\nlooks like a locust, the other like a monkey.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nBABYLONIAN FABLES.\n\n Fables.\u2014Common in the East.\u2014Description.\u2014Power of speech in\n animals.\u2014Story of the eagle.\u2014Serpent.\u2014Samas.\u2014The eagle caught.\u2014Eats\n the serpent.\u2014Anger of Birds.\u2014Etana.\u2014Seven gods.\u2014Third tablet.\u2014Speech\n of eagle.\u2014Story of the fox.\u2014His cunning.\u2014Judgment of Samas.\u2014His\n show of sorrow.\u2014His punishment.\u2014Speech of fox.\u2014Fable of the\n horse and ox.\u2014They consort together.\u2014Speech of the ox.\u2014His good\n fortune.\u2014Contrast with the horse.\u2014Hunting the ox.\u2014Speech of the\n horse.\u2014Offers to recount story.\u2014Story of Istar.\u2014Further tablets.\n\n\nCombined with these stories of the gods, traditions of the early\nhistory of man, and accounts of the Creation, are fragments of a\nseries in which various animals speak and act. As these resemble the\nbeast-fables of other races, more especially the African, they may be\nconveniently classed under the general heading of \u201cFables.\u201d The idea\nthat animals can speak, or have spoken in some former age of the world,\neven occurs in Genesis, where we have a speaking serpent; in Numbers,\nwhere Balaam\u2019s ass reproves his master; and in the stories of Jotham\nand Joash, where the trees are made to talk; as also in the Izdubar\nlegends, where the trees answer Hea-bani.\n\nFour fables have been preserved among the fragmentary records of\nAssur-bani-pal\u2019s library.\n\nThe first contained at least four tablets each having four columns of\nwriting. Two of the acting animals in it are the eagle and the serpent.\n\nThe second is similar in character, the leading animal being the fox or\njackal, but there are only four fragments of it; it may belong to the\nsame series as the fable of the eagle.\n\nThe third is a single tablet with two columns of writing, and contains\na discussion between the horse and ox.\n\nThe fourth is a single fragment in which a calf speaks, but there is\nnothing to show the nature of the story.\n\n\nI. THE STORY OF THE EAGLE.\n\nThis story appears to be the longest and most curious of the fables,\nbut the very mutilated condition of the various fragments gives as\nusual considerable difficulty in attempting a translation of it. One\nof the actors in the story is an ancient monarch named Etana, who,\nlike Ner, ruled over Babylon in the mythical period that followed the\nDeluge, and whose phantom was believed to sit, crowned, on a throne\nin Hades along with the shades of the other heroes of old time. The\nstory of Etana was supposed to have been written by an early poet named\nNis-Sin.\n\nIt is impossible to determine the proper order of the fragments of\nthe story owing to their mutilated condition; they must therefore be\ntranslated as they come.\n\n\nK 2527.\n\nMany lines lost at the commencement.\n\n1. The serpent in ...\n\n2. I gave a command (?) .....\n\n3. to the eagle .....\n\n4. Again the nest .....\n\n5. my nest I have left in .....\n\n6. the assembly? of my people .....\n\n7. I went down and entered:\n\n8. the sentence which Samas has pronounced on me .....\n\n9. the ear of corn (?) which Samas thy field the earth ....\n\n10. this thy fruit ....\n\n11. in thy field let me not ....\n\n12. the doing of evil the goddess Bahu (Gula) ....\n\n13. The sorrow of the serpent [Samas saw and]\n\n14. Samas opened his mouth and a word he spoke:\n\n15. Go, along the way pass ....\n\n16. he covered thee ....\n\n17. open also his heart ....\n\n18. .... he placed (?) ....\n\n19. .... birds of heaven ....\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. The eagle with them ....\n\n2. the god? had known ....\n\n3. he descended, the flesh he ....\n\n4. to cover the ....\n\n5. to the midst at his entering ....\n\n6. the cutting off of the feathers of his wings ....\n\n7. his claws? and his pinions to ....\n\n8. death by hunger and thirst ....\n\n9. for the work of Samas the warrior, the serpent ....\n\n10. he took also the serpent ....\n\n11. he opened also his heart ....\n\n12. seat he placed ....\n\n13. peace the birds of heaven ....\n\n14. May the eagle ....\n\n15. with the young of the birds ....\n\n16. The eagle opened his mouth ....\n\nFive other mutilated lines.\n\nOn another fragment are the following few words:\u2014\n\n\nObverse.\n\n1. .... fierce to him also ....\n\n2. .... the god (?) my father ....\n\n3. like Etana thy death ....\n\n4. like thee ....\n\n5. the god Etana the king ....\n\n6. they stripped him in ....\n\n\nReverse.\n\n1. Within the gate of Anu, Bel (and Hea)\n\n2. they are established ....\n\n3. within the gate of Sin, Samas, Rimmon, and ....\n\n4. .... I opened ....\n\n5. its ... I devastated ....\n\n6. .... in the midst ....\n\n7. the king ....\n\n8. the god also ....\n\n9. I overshadowed the throne ....\n\n10. I took (?) also ....\n\n11. to the great one also I have explained (?) ....\n\n12. The eagle to him also even to Etana ....\n\n13. his .... the mouth ....\n\n14. may thy city submit ....\n\nThe next fragment, K 2606, is curious, as containing an account of\nsome early legendary story in Babylonian history. This tablet formed\nthe third in the series, and from it we gain part of the title of the\ntablets.\n\n\nK 2606.\n\n1. ....... the god had placed ....\n\n2. of the city he had fixed its brickwork ....\n\n3. he had shepherded them ....\n\n4. Etana gave them ....\n\n5. .... corn ....\n\n6. the seven spirits of earth ....\n\n7. .... they took their counsel ....\n\n8. .... the world ....\n\n9. .... all of them the angels ....\n\n10. .... they ....\n\n11. In those days also ....\n\n12. and a sceptre of crystal ....\n\n13. the bowing down of the world ....\n\n14. the seven gods over the people raised ....\n\n15. over the men they raised ....\n\n16. the city of the angels Surippak\n\n17. Istar the streets ....\n\n18. and the king flew ....\n\n19. the god Inninna the streets ....\n\n20. and the king flew ....\n\n21. Bel encircled (?) the sanctuary of the god ....\n\n22. he worshipped also ....\n\n23. in the wide country ....\n\n24. the kingdom ....\n\n25. he brought and ....\n\n26. the gods of the country ....\n\n\nReverse.\n\nMany lines lost.\n\n1. from of old he caused him to wait ....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n2. Third tablet of \u201cThe city he left (?) ....\u201d\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. The eagle his mouth opened and to Samas his lord he spake.\n\nThe next fragment is a small portion probably of the fourth tablet.\n\n1. The eagle his mouth (opened) ....\n\n2. ..........\n\n3. the people of the birds ....\n\n4. ..........\n\n5. peace he speaks ....\n\n6. peace I speak ....\n\n7. in the mouth of Samas the warrior ....\n\n8. the people of the birds ....\n\n9. The eagle his mouth opened and ....\n\n10. Why do I go ....\n\n11. the god Etana his mouth opened and ....\n\nSuch are the principal fragments of this curious legend. According to\nthe fragment K 2527, the serpent had committed some sin for which it\nwas condemned by the god Samas to be eaten by the eagle; but the eagle\ndeclined the repast.\n\nAfter this, some one, whose name is lost, baits a trap for the eagle,\nand the bird going to get the meat, falls into the trap and is caught.\nNow the eagle is left, until dying for want of food it is glad to\neat the serpent, which it takes and tears open. The other birds then\ninterfere, but the tablet is too mutilated to allow us to discover for\nwhat purpose.\n\nThe other fragments concern the building of some city, Etana being\nking, and in these relations the eagle again appears; there are seven\nspirits or angels principal actors in the matter, but the whole story\nis obscure at present, and a connected plot cannot be made out.\n\nThis fable has evidently some direct connection with the mythical\nhistory of Babylonia, for Etana is mentioned as an ancient Babylonian\nmonarch in the Izdubar legends. He seems to be the Titan of the Greek\nwriters, who lived after the Deluge and made war against Kronos or Hea\nshortly after the confusion of tongues. The city built by Etana may\nbe the city mentioned in Gen. xi. 4 as built at the same time as the\nTower of Babel. If the Sibyl can be trusted Titan was a contemporary\nof Prometheus, in whom we may perhaps see the Inninna of the cuneiform\ninscription. That Etana was closely associated with the story of the\nDeluge appears plain from the fact that he ruled at Surippak, the home\nand kingdom of the Chaldean Noah. The legend of Etana seems in the\nfable to be put into the mouth of the eagle.\n\n\nII. STORY OF THE FOX.\n\nThe next fable, that of the fox, was ascribed to an author called\nLal-Merodach, the son of Eri-Turnunna, but the fragments are so\ndisconnected that they must be given without any attempt at arrangement.\n\n\nK 3641.\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. he had raised life ....\n\n2. thou in that day also didst establish ....\n\n3. thou knowest plots (and) the making of snares ....\n\n4. of .... chains, his command he ....\n\n5. from the time the fox approaches he urged me; let not ....\n\n6. in treading down .... he had established on my feet,\n\n7. again by command is the fecundity of life.\n\n8. Samas by thy judgment is ruler; never may he go forth;\n\n9. if need be, with the making of snares let them put to death the fox.\n    \u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n10. The fox on hearing this, raised his head in the presence of Samas\nand weeps.\n\n11. To the presence of the splendour of Samas his tears went:\n\n12. by this judgment O Samas thou dost not make me fecund.\n\n\n(Columns II. and III. lost.)\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. I went to my forest, I turned not back after him\n\n2. and in peace I came not forth, and the sun sees not.\n\n3. As for thee, never may man imprison (thee),\n\n4. since in the pride of my heart and the strength of my face thou\ngoest straight before (me).\n\n5. May I confine thee and not send (thee) away.\n\n6. May I take hold of thee and thou lacerate not ....\n\n7. May I seize thee and not tear (thee) to pieces.\n\n8. May I tear thy limbs to pieces and (not) ....\n\n9. The fox weeps ....\n\n10. he bowed his face ....\n\n11. I went and ....\n\nFive other mutilated lines.\n\nThe next fragment has lost the commencements and ends of all the lines.\n\n1. .... he carries (?) in the mouth ....\n\n2. .... the face of his ....\n\n3. .... thou knowest wisdom all ....\n\n4. .... in the pathway the fox they are ....\n\n5. .... in the field the fox a combatant ....\n\n6. .... was decided under the ruler ....\n\n7. .... all (?), the lying down of his feet at dawn ....\n\n8. .... a sign he set up and he fled ....\n\n9. .... no one ....\n\n10. .... may it become old to thee .... and take ....\n\n11. .... in those days also the fox carried ....\n\n12. .... to the people he spoke. Why ....\n\n13. .... the dog is removed and ....\n\nThe following fragment is in a similar condition.\n\n1. .... The limbs I did not ....\n\n2. .... I did not weave and against the unclothed (?) I did not ....\n\n3. .... a stranger I cover ....\n\n4. .... I caught and I surrounded (?) ....\n\n5. .... from of old also the dog was my brother ....\n\n6. .... he begot me, a firm place ....\n\n7. .... of the city of Nisin; I of Bel ....\n\n8. .... limbs and the bodies did not stand ...\n\n9. .... life I did not end (?) ....\n\nThe fourth fragment contains only five legible lines.\n\n1. .... was placed also right (and left) ....\n\n2. .... their shepherd was prostrate ....\n\n3. .... let it not be ....\n\n4. .... they guarded and did not throw down his spoil ...\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n5. ...... the fox in the trap (?) ....\n\nThe last fragment is a small scrap, at the end of which the fox\npetitions Samas to spare him.\n\nThe incidental allusions in these fragments show that the fox was even\nthen considered cunning, and the animal in the story was evidently a\nwatery specimen, as he brings tears to his assistance whenever anything\nis to be gained by it. He had offended Samas by some means and the god\nsentenced him to death, a sentence which he escaped through powerful\npleading on his own behalf.\n\n\nIII. FABLE OF THE HORSE AND OX.\n\nThe next fable, that of the horse and the ox, is a single tablet with\nonly two columns of text. The date of the tablet is in the reign of\nAssur-bani-pal, and there is no statement that it is copied from an\nearlier text. There are altogether four portions of the text, but only\none is perfect enough to be worth translating. This largest fragment, K\n3456, contains about one-third of the story.\n\n\nK 3456.\n\n(Several lines are lost at the commencement.)\n\n1. ..... the river ....\n\n2. of food (?) .... rest ....\n\n3. full flood .... the Tigris ....\n\n4. they restrained .... they had the face ...\n\n5. the water-lily .... not in the neighbourhood\n\n6. the high place .... appearance\n\n7. the valley .... the mountain (was perishing),\n\n8. at the appearance .... the timid fled (not),\n\n9. a boundless place .... he turned\n\n10. in the side ....\n\n11. of the waste .... earth was free within it;\n\n12. the tribes of cattle rejoiced in companionship and friendship,\n\n13. the ox and the horse made friendship,\n\n14. their maw rejoiced when to friendship\n\n15. it inclined, and their heart was glad; they made agreement\ntogether.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n16. The ox opened his mouth, and speaks; he says to the horse glorious\nin war:\n\n17. I am pondering now upon the good fortune at my hand.\n\n18. At the beginning of the year and the end of the year I dream (_or_\nponder) of fodder.\n\n19. The abundant floods had been dried up, the waters of the canals\nwere reduced,\n\n20. the water-lily had drooped, it was suffering the summer-heat,\n\n21. the valleys were stony, my mountain was perishing,\n\n22. the high places had perished, the _zambatu_ languished,\n\n23. at the sight of my horn the timid fled not.\n\n24. A boundless place is portioned for his ....\n\n25. the man .... who knew ceased ....\n\n26. he smote the ropes (?) and waited ....\n\n27. and the horse ....\n\n28. cut off thyself thy ....\n\n29. he ascends also ....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nHere the ox describes the state of the country during the drought of\nsummer, and makes a league with the horse, apparently for the purpose\nof sharing with him the same pastures. Most of the speeches, however,\nmade by the two animals are lost or only present in small fragments,\nand the story recommences on the reverse with the end of a speech from\nthe horse.\n\n1. fate ....\n\n2. strong brass? ....\n\n3. as with a cloak I am clothed ....\n\n4. over me a child not suited ....\n\n5. king, high priest, lord and prince do not seek the plain ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n6. The ox opened his mouth and spake and says to the horse glorious (in\nwar):\n\n7. Thee they strike and thou alliest ....\n\n8. in thy fighting why ....\n\n9. the lord of the chariot ....\n\n10. in my body firmness ....\n\n11. in my inside firmness ....\n\n12. the warrior draws out the quiver ....\n\n13. strength carries a curse ....\n\n14. the weapon (?) of thy masters over ....\n\n15. he causes to see servitude like ....\n\n16. shudder and in thee is not ....\n\n17. he causes to go on the path over (the marsh) ..\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n18. The horse opened his mouth and spake (and said to the ox) ....\n\n19. In my hearing ....\n\n20. the weapon (?) ....\n\n21. the swords ....\n\n22. ......\n\n23. strength? of the heart which ....\n\n24. in crossing that river ....\n\n25. in the path of thy mountains ....\n\n26. I reveal? and the ox the story ....\n\n27. in thy appearance, it is not ....\n\n28. thy offspring is subdued? ....\n\n29. when thou runnest, O horse ....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n30. The ox opened his mouth and spake and says to (the horse glorious\nin war) ....\n\n31. In addition to the stories which thou hast told\n\n32. open first (that of) \u201cBehold Istar the noble ....\u201d\n\n    (Colophon)\n\nPalace of Assur-bani-pal, king of nations, king (of Assyria).\n\nIt appears from these fragments that the story described a time when\nthe animals associated together, and the ox and horse fell into a\nfriendly conversation. The ox, commencing the discussion, praised\nhimself; the answer of the horse is lost, but where the story\nrecommences it appears that the ox objects to the horse drawing the\nchariot from which he himself is hunted, and the horse ultimately\noffers to tell the ox a story, the ox choosing the story called \u201cBehold\nIstar,\u201d probably some story of the same character as that of Istar\u2019s\ndescent into Hades.\n\nIt is uncertain if any other tablet followed this; it is, however,\nprobable that there was one containing the story told by the horse.\nAlthough there is no indication to show the date of this fable, the\nfact that it is not stated to have been copied from an older document\nseems to show that it is not earlier than the time of Assur-bani-pal.\nThe loss of the tablet containing the story of Istar, told by the horse\nto the ox, is unfortunate. The last fable is a mere fragment similar to\nthe others, containing a story in which the calf speaks. There is not\nenough of it to make it worth translation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nFRAGMENTS OF MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS.\n\n Atarpi.\u2014Punishment of world.\u2014Riddle of wise man.\u2014Nature and\n universal presence of air.\u2014Sinuri.\u2014Divining by fracture of reed.\u2014The\n foundling.\u2014Tower of Babel.\u2014Obscurity of legend.\u2014Not noticed by\n Berosus.\u2014Fragmentary tablet.\u2014Destruction of Tower.\u2014Dispersion.\u2014Site of\n the Tower.\u2014Meaning of Babel.\u2014Chedor-laomer.\u2014The destruction of Sodom\n and Gomorrah.\n\n\nA number of stories of a similar character to those of Genesis, though\nnot directly connected with the latter, have been included in this\nchapter, together with two fragments which probably relate, the one to\nthe Tower of Babel, the other to the destruction of the cities of the\nPlain. The first and principal text is the story of Atarpi, or Atarpi\nnisu, \u201cAtarpi the man.\u201d This story is on a tablet in six columns, and\nthere is only one copy of it. It is terribly mutilated, very little\nbeing preserved except Column III., but there are numerous repetitions\nthroughout the text. The inscription has originally been a long one,\nprobably extending to about 400 lines of writing, and the text differs\nfrom the generality of these inscriptions, being very obscure and\ndifficult. In consequence of this and other reasons, only an outline of\nmost of the story is given here.\n\nWe are first told of a quarrel between a mother named Zibanit and her\ndaughter, and that the mother shuts the door of the house, and turns\nher daughter adrift, the words of the original being \u201cthe mother to\nthe daughter opens not her door.\u201d The doings of a man named Zamu have\nsome connection with the affair, his \u201cdescending into the street on\ngetting\u201d something being mentioned immediately before the expulsion of\nthe daughter; and at the close we are told of Atarpi, sometimes called\nAtarpi-nisu, or Atarpi the \u201cman\u201d who had his couch beside the river\nof the north, and was pious to the gods, but took no notice of these\nthings. When the story next opens, we find the god Bel calling together\nan assembly of the gods his sons, and relating to them that he is angry\nat the sin of the world, stating also that he will bring down upon it\ndisease, tempest, distress, madness, burning and sickness. This is\nfollowed by the statement that these things came to pass, and Atarpi\nthen invoked his god Hea to remove these evils. For a whole year, it\nwould seem, he interceded for the people, and at last Hea answered, and\nannounced his resolve to destroy the people. After this the story reads:\n\n1. (Hea called) his assembly (by the river) of the north; he said to\nthe gods his sons:\n\n2. ...... I made them\n\n3. .... shall not stretch until before he turns.\n\n4. Their famine I observe,\n\n5. their shame the woman takes not;\n\n6. I will look to judge the people?\n\n7. in their stomach let famine dwell,\n\n8. above let Rimmon drink up his rain,\n\n9. let him drink up below, let not the flood be carried in the canals,\n\n10. let it remove from the field its inundations,\n\n11. let the corn-god give over increase, let blackness overspread the\ncorn,\n\n12. let the plowed fields bring forth thorns,\n\n13. let the growth of their fruit perish, let food not come forth from\nit, let bread not be produced,\n\n14. let distress also be spread over the people,\n\n15. may favour be shut up, and good not be given.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n16. He looked also to judge the people,\n\n17. in their stomach dwelt famine,\n\n18. above Rimmon drank up his rain,\n\n19. he drank it up below, the flood was not carried in the canals,\n\n20. it removed from the field its inundations,\n\n21. the corn-god gave over increase, blackness spread over the corn,\n\n22. the plowed fields brought forth thorns, the growth of their fruit\nperished,\n\n23. food came not forth from it, bread was not produced,\n\n24. distress was spread over the people,\n\n25. favour was shut up, good was not given.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nThis will serve to show the style of the tablet. The instrument of\npunishment was apparently famine from want of rain.\n\nHere the story is again lost, and where it recommences Hea is making a\nspeech, directing another person to cut something into portions, and\nplace seven on each side, and then to build brickwork round them. After\nthis comes a single fragment, the connection of which with the former\npart is obscure.\n\n1. Seated was the goddess ....\n\n2. to her face also he gave ....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. Anu opened his mouth and speaks; he said to (Nusku);\n\n4. Nusku open thy gate; thy weapons (take)\n\n5. in the assembly of the great gods when ....\n\n6. their speech? ....\n\n7. Anu sent m ....\n\n8. your king sent ....\n\nAt present no satisfactory story can be made out of the detached\nfragments of this tablet, but it evidently belongs to the mythical\nportion of Babylonian history, and it is impossible not to compare\nthe unsuccessful intercession of the righteous man Atarpi with the\npleadings of Abraham on behalf of the cities of the plain.\n\nThe next text is a single fragment, K 2407, belonging to a curious\nstory of a wise man who puts a riddle to the gods.\n\n\nK 2407.\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n1. The clothing of the god ....\n\n2. What in the house is (fixed) ....\n\n3. What in the secret place is ....\n\n4. what is in the foundation of the house ....\n\n5. what on the floor of the house is fixed, what ...\n\n6. what the lower part ....\n\n7. what by the sides of the house goes down ....\n\n8. what in the ditch of the house broad _nigitstsi_ ....\n\n9. what roars like a bull, what brays like an ass,\n\n10. what flutters like a sail, what bleats like a sheep,\n\n11. what barks like a dog,\n\n12. what growls like a bear,\n\n13. what into the fundament of a man enters, what into the fundament of\na woman enters.\n\n14. Then Lugal-girra (Nergal) heard the wise word the son of the people\n\n15. asked, and all the gods he urged (to solve it):\n\n16. Let your solution be produced, that I may bring back your answer.\n\nAfter this there is a mutilated passage containing the names, titles,\nand actions of the gods who consider the riddle. It is evident that it\nis air or wind which the wise man means in his riddle, for this is\neverywhere, and in its sounds imitates the cries of animals.\n\nNext we have another single fragment about a person named Sinuri, who\nuses a divining rod to ascertain the meaning of a dream.\n\n1. Sinuri with the cut reed pondered ....\n\n2. with his right hand he broke it, and Sinuri speaks and thus says:\n\n3. Now the plant of Nusku, the shrub? of Samas art thou.\n\n4. Judge, thou judgest (_or_ divinest), divine concerning this dream,\n\n5. which in the evening, at midnight, or in the morning,\n\n6. has come, which thou knowest, but I do not know.\n\n7. If it be good may its good not be lost to me,\n\n8. if it be evil may its evil not happen to me.\n\nThere are some more obscure and broken lines, but no indication as to\nthe story to which it belongs.\n\nA specimen of early Babylonian folklore may fitly be added here. It is\na bilingual fragment which treats of a foundling who was picked up in\nthe streets and finally became a great scholar. Unfortunately both the\nbeginning and the end of the story are wanting.\n\n1. He who father and mother had not,\n\n2. who his father (and) his mother knew not,\n\n3. in the gutter (was) his going, in the street (his) entering.\n\n4. From the mouth of the dogs one took him,\n\n5. from the mouth of the ravens one put him away.\n\n6. In the presence of the soothsayer the .... of his mouth one took.\n\n7. The sole of his feet with the seal the soothsayer has marked.\n\n8. To a nurse he gave him.\n\n9. To his nurse for three years, corn, a cradle (?)\n\n10. (and) clothing he guaranteed.\n\n11. Then and ever he hid from him how he was taken (from the streets).\n\n12. His rearer he rooted out (?).\n\n13. The ..... of the milk of mankind he gave him, and\n\n14. as his own son he made him.\n\n15. As his own son he inscribed him.\n\n16. A knowledge of writing he made him possess.\n\n17. For his education (he cared).\n\nOne of the most obscure incidents in the Book of Genesis is undoubtedly\nthe building of the Tower of Babel. So far as we can judge from the\nfragments of his copyists, there was no reference to it in the work\nof Berosus, and early writers had to quote from writers of more than\ndoubtful authority in order to confirm it.\n\n[Illustration: MEN ENGAGED IN BUILDING COLUMNS; FROM BABYLONIAN\nCYLINDER.]\n\nThere is also no representation on any of the Babylonian gems which can\nwith any certainty be described as belonging to this story. Mr. Smith,\nhowever, picked out three from a series of these carvings which he\nthought might be distorted representations of the event. In these and\nsome others of the same character, figures have their hands on tall\npiles, as if erecting them; and there is a god always represented near\nin much the same attitude. There is no proper proportion between the\nsupposed structure and the men, and no stress can consequently be laid\non the representations. The Babylonian origin of the story is, however,\nself-evident. According to Genesis, mankind after the flood travelled\nfrom the east, that is from Kharsak-kurra, \u201cthe mountain of the East,\u201d\nnow Elwend, where the Accadians believed the ark to have rested, to\nthe plain of Shinar or Sumir. Both Alexander Polyhistor and Abydenus\nstate that the building of the Tower of Babel was known to Babylonian\nhistory, Babel, in fact, being the native form of the name which the\nGreeks changed into Babylon. The legend of Etana given in the last\nchapter seems to imply that the Tower was supposed to have been built\nunder the superintendence of this mythical hero. However that may be, a\nfragment of the native story of its construction was discovered by Mr.\nSmith, and though shockingly mutilated, is sufficient to show what the\nBabylonians themselves believed on the matter.\n\nIt is evident from the wording of the fragment that it was preceded\nby at least one tablet, describing the sin of the people in building\nthe tower. The fragment preserved belongs to a tablet containing from\nfour to six columns of writing, of which portions of four remain. The\nprincipal part is the beginning of Column I.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. .... them the father ....\n\n2. the thought of his heart was evil,\n\n3. .... he the father of all the gods had repudiated;\n\n4. the thought of his heart was evil,\n\n5. .... of Babylon he hastens to the submission (?),\n\n6. [small] and great he confounded (on) the mound.\n\n7. .... of Babylon he hastens to the submission,\n\n8. [small] and great he confounded (on) the mound.\n\n9. Their walls all the day he founded;\n\n10. for their destruction (punishment) in the night\n\n11. .... he did not leave a remainder.\n\n12. In his anger also (his) secret counsel he pours out:\n\n13. [to] confound (their) speeches he set his face.\n\n14. He gave the command, he made strange their counsel\n\n15. .... the going he inspected it.\n\n16. .... he took (selected) a shrine.\n\nThere is a small fragment of Column II., but the connection with Column\nI. is not apparent.\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. Sar-tuli-elli (the king of the illustrious mound, _i.e._ Anu)\ndestroys (_or_ punishes).\n\n2. In front had Anu lifted up ....\n\n3. to Bel-esir his father ....\n\n4. Since his heart also ....\n\n5. who carried the command ....\n\n6. In those days also ....\n\n7. he lifted him up ....\n\n8. The goddess Dav-kina ....\n\n9. My son I rise and ....\n\n10. his number (?) ....\n\n11. he did not ....\n\nThere is a third portion on the same tablet belonging to a column on\nthe other side, either the third or the fifth.\n\n\nREVERSE COLUMN III. OR V.\n\n1. In ....\n\n2. they blew and ....\n\n3. for future times ....\n\n4. The god of no government went ....\n\n5. He said, like heaven and earth ....\n\n6. his path they went ....\n\n7. fiercely they fronted his presence ....\n\n8. He saw them and the earth ....\n\n9. Since a stop they did not (make) ....\n\n10. of the gods ....\n\n11. the gods they revolted against ....\n\n12. offspring ....\n\n13. They weep hot tears for Babylon;\n\n14. bitterly they wept (for Babylon);\n\n15. their heart also ....\n\nThese fragments are so remarkable that it is most unfortunate we have\nnot the remainder of the tablet.\n\nIn the first part we have the anger of Bel, the father of the gods, at\nthe sin of those who were building the walls of Babylon and the mound\nof tower or palace. This mound is termed \u201cthe illustrious,\u201d and the god\nAnu who destroyed the builders is accordingly called _Sar-tuli-elli_,\n\u201cthe king of the illustrious mound.\u201d Since the Accadian name of the\nmonth Tisri, our October, was \u201cthe month of the illustrious mound,\u201d it\nwould appear that the construction of it was believed to have taken\nplace at the time of the autumnal equinox. The builders were punished\nby the deity, and the walls that had been set up in the day were\ndestroyed at night. Prof. Delitzsch has drawn attention to a possible\nreference to this legend in an Accadian hymn in which the poet says\nto Merodach, \u201cfound during the day, destroy during the night.\u201d It is\nplain from the first lines that the whole attempt was directed against\nthe gods; in fact, that like the giants and Titans in Greek mythology,\nwhose assault on Zeus is probably but an echo of the old Babylonian\ntale, conveyed to Greece through the hands of the Ph\u0153nicians, the\nbuilders of the Tower of Babylon intended to scale the sky. They were,\nhowever, confounded on the mound, as well as their speech (_tammasle_).\nIt is interesting to find the very same word signifying \u201cto confound\u201d\nused in the Babylonian as in the Hebrew account, namely _b\u00e2lal_, or\nrather _b\u00e2l\u00e2h_. We may also notice that the Hebrew writer once (Gen.\nxi. 7.) adopts the polytheistic language of the Accadian scribe; the\nLord being made to say \u201cLet _us_ go down, and there confound their\nlanguage.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: VIEW OF THE BIRS NIMRUD, THE SUPPOSED SITE OF THE TOWER\nOF BABEL.]\n\nThe last column shows that the winds finally destroyed the impious work\nof the Babylonians. This fully accords with the legend reported by\nAlexander Polyhistor. For a time Babylon was given over to the god of\nlawlessness; but at last the gods repented of the evil they had done,\nand order was once more restored. The shrine mentioned in the sixteenth\nline of the first column may receive some light from the fact that the\nAccadian name of Nisan or March was \u201cthe month of the upright altar,\u201d\nor \u201cof the altar of Bel,\u201d and that Nisan corresponded with the vernal\nequinox just as Tisri did with the autumnal equinox.\n\n[Illustration: VIEW OF THE BABIL MOUND AT BABYLON, THE SITE OF THE\nTEMPLE OF BEL.]\n\nThe etymology of the name of Babel from _balbel_, \u201cto confound,\u201d\nsuggested in Genesis is one of those \u201cpopular etymologies\u201d or plays\non words of which the Old Testament writers are so fond. Thus, for\ninstance, the name of Joseph is connected first with _\u2019\u00e2saph_ \u201cto\ntake away,\u201d and then with _y\u00e2saph_ \u201cto add\u201d (Gen. xxx. 23, 24.), and\nthe name of the Moabite city Dibon is changed into Dimon by Isaiah\n(xv. 9) to indicate that its \u201cwaters shall be full of blood,\u201d Hebrew\n_d\u00e2m_. Babel is the Assyrian _Bab-ili_ \u201cthe gate of God\u201d (or, as it\nis occasionally written in the plural, _Bab-ili_ \u201cGate of the gods\u201d),\nwhich was the Semitic translation of the old Accadian name of the town\nCa-dimirra with the same meaning. This is not the only instance in\nwhich the original Accadian names of Babylonian cities were literally\ntranslated into Semitic Babylonian after the Semitic conquest of\nthe country. It is possible that the name had some reference to the\nbuilding of the Tower. Babylon was first made a capital by Khammuragas,\nthe leader of the Coss\u00e6an dynasty, a position which it never\nafterwards lost; but the first antediluvian king of Chaldea, Alorus,\naccording to Barosus, was a native of the place.\n\n[Illustration: TOWER IN STAGES, FROM AN ASSYRIAN BAS-RELIEF.]\n\nThe actual site of the Tower of Babel, beyond the mere fact that it\nwas somewhere in Babylon, has not yet been settled. It is generally\nconsidered to be represented by the great pile of Birs Nimrud, which\nstood in Borsippa, the suburb of Babylon, and was dedicated to Nebo\nand called \u201cthe Temple of the Seven Lights\u201d or planets. This ruin has\nbeen examined by Sir Henry Rawlinson; details of his operations here\nare given in the \u201cJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society,\u201d vol. xviii.,\nand Rawlinson\u2019s \u201cAncient Monarchies,\u201d p. 544. Sir Henry discovered\nby excavation that the tower consisted of seven stages of brickwork\non an earthen platform, each stage being of a different colour. This\nis explained by the fact that it was devoted to the seven planets.\nThe height of the earthen platform was not ascertained, but the first\nstage, which was an exact square, was 272 feet each way, and 26 feet\nhigh, the bricks being blackened with bitumen; this stage is supposed\nto have been dedicated to the planet Saturn. The second stage was a\nsquare of 230 feet, 26 feet high, faced with orange-coloured bricks;\nsupposed to have been dedicated to Jupiter. The third stage, 188 feet\nsquare, and 26 feet high, faced with red bricks, was probably dedicated\nto Mars. The fourth stage, 146 feet square, and 15 feet high, was\nprobably dedicated to the Sun, and is thought by Sir H. Rawlinson to\nhave been originally plated with gold. The fifth stage is supposed to\nhave been 104, the sixth 62, and the seventh 20 feet square, but the\ntop was too ruinous to decide these measurements. These stages were\nprobably dedicated to Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. Each stage of the\nbuilding was not set in the centre of the stage on which it rested,\nbut was placed 30 feet from the front, and 12 feet from the back. The\nruin at present rises 154 feet above the level of the plain, and is the\nmost imposing pile in the whole country. According to Nebuchadnezzar\nit had been built to the height of 42 cubits by \u201ca former king,\u201d who\nhowever had not completed its summit, and it had long been in a ruinous\ncondition when Nebuchadnezzar undertook to restore and finish it. Prof.\nSchrader imagines that the long period during which it had remained\nan unfinished ruin caused the growth of the legend which saw in it\na monument of the overthrow of human presumption, the diversity of\nlanguages in Babylonia being sufficient to account for the localization\nof the confusion of tongues in the country.\n\nSir Henry Rawlinson now proposes to place the Tower or _tul ellu_ at\nthe ruins now called Amr\u00e1n, within the city of Babylon itself. Here\nhe thinks were the temple of Anu, on the site of the ruined Tower, a\nchapel dedicated to Nebo, an altar of Merodach, the royal palace (now\nrepresented by the mound of the Kasr), and the hanging gardens, all\nenclosed by a common wall. The quarter of Babylon thus enclosed he\nwould identify with the Calneh of the Bible, principally on the ground\nthat the Septuagint rendering of Isaiah x. 9 is, \u201cHave I not taken the\nregion above Babylon and Chalanne where the tower was built?\u201d\n\nA third site has been claimed for the Tower on the Babil or Mujellibeh\nmound on the north side of Babylon. This represents the famous temple\nof Belus or Bel, whose great festival marked the beginning of the year\nand the vernal equinox. But there is no evidence to support this third\nopinion.\n\nIn the Babylonian and Assyrian sculptures there are occasionally\nrepresentations of towers similar in style to the supposed Tower of\nBabel; one of these is given on the stone of Merodach Baladan I.,\nopposite p. 236 of Mr. Smith\u2019s \u201cAssyrian Discoveries;\u201d another occurs\non the sculptures at Nineveh, representing the city of Babylon; this\ntower, however, cannot represent the Borsippa pile, since it consists\nof only five stages.\n\nBesides the Tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by\nfire from heaven may also have been known to the Accadians. We learn\nfrom Genesis xiv. that the cities of the plain were among the conquests\nof Chedor-laomer and his allies, and there is some reason for thinking\nthat the history of Chedor-laomer\u2019s campaign may have been derived\nfrom the Babylonian state archives. At all events Amraphel or Amarpel,\nthe king of Sumir, is mentioned first, although Chedor-laomer was the\nparamount sovereign and the leader of the expedition. The expedition\nmust have taken place during the period when, as we learn from the\ninscriptions, Babylonia was subject to the monarchs of Elam, though\nsubordinate princes were ruling over the states into which it was\ndivided at the time. Though the name of Chedor-laomer has not been\nfound, Laomer or Lagamar appears as an Elamite god, and several of\nthe Elamite kings bore names compounded with Kudur \u201ca servant,\u201d as\nKudur-Nankhunte, \u201cthe servant of the god Nankhunte,\u201d Kudur-Mabug,\n\u201cthe servant of Mabug,\u201d and the like. Arioch, king of Ellasar, which\nprobably stands for al Larsa, \u201cthe city of Larsa,\u201d has the same name\nas Eri-Acu (\u201cthe servant of the moon-god\u201d), the son of the Elamite\nmonarch Kudur-Mabug, who reigned over Larsa during his father\u2019s\nlifetime, and was eventually overthrown by the Coss\u00e6an conqueror\nKhammuragas.\n\nThe text which perhaps relates to the destruction of the guilty cities\nis a bilingual one, much mutilated, and runs as follows:\u2014\n\n1. An overthrow came from the midst of the deep (the waters above the\nfirmament).\n\n2. The fated punishment from the midst of heaven descended.\n\n3. A storm like a plummet the earth (overwhelmed).\n\n4. Towards the four winds the destroying flood like fire burnt.\n\n5. The inhabitants of the city it had caused to be tormented; their\nbodies it consumed.\n\n6. In city and country it spread death, and the flames as they rose\noverthrew.\n\n7. Freeman and slave were equal, and the high places it filled.\n\n8. In heaven and earth like a thunderstorm it had rained; a prey it\nmade.\n\n9. To a place of refuge the gods hastened, and in a throng collected.\n\n10. Its mighty (onset) they fled from, and like a garment it concealed\n(the guilty).\n\n11. They (feared), and death (overtook them).\n\n12. (Their) feet and hands (it embraced).\n\n13. ..........\n\n14. Their body it consumed.\n\n15. ..... as for the city, its foundations it defiled.\n\n16. .... with (glory?) and breadth his mouth he filled.\n\n17. This man the voice (of the thunder) called; the thunderbolt\ndescended;\n\n18. during the day it flashed; grievously (it fell).\n\nHere the fragment breaks off. It is possible that the person referred\nto in line 17 was the pious man who like Lot escaped the destruction\nthat befell his neighbours.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: IZDUBAR STRANGLING A LION. FROM KHORSABAD SCULPTURE.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE IZDUBAR LEGENDS.\n\n Izdubar.\u2014Meaning of the name.\u2014A solar hero.\u2014Prototype of\n Herakles.\u2014Age of Legends.\u2014Babylonian cylinders.\u2014Notices\n of Izdubar.\u2014Surippak.\u2014Ark City.\u2014Twelve tablets.\u2014Extent of\n Legends.\u2014Description.\u2014Introduction.\u2014Meeting of Hea-bani\n and Izdubar.\u2014Destruction of tyrant Khumbaba.\u2014Adventures\n of Istar.\u2014Illness and wanderings of Izdubar.\u2014Description\n of Deluge and conclusion.\u2014First Tablet.\u2014Kingdom of\n Nimrod.\u2014Traditions.\u2014Identifications.\u2014Translation.\u2014Elamite\n conquest\u2014Dates.\n\n\nWe now come to the great Epic of early Chaldea, first discovered by Mr.\nSmith in 1872. The hero of this Epic is provisionally called Izdubar,\nthough this is certainly not the right reading of his name. The first\nand last characters which compose it together form a compound ideograph\nsignifying \u201cfire,\u201d and pronounced _gibil_ in Accadian, _isatu_ in\nAssyrian, while the middle character, _dhu_ or _dhun_, meant \u201ca\nmass\u201d or \u201ca going.\u201d \u201cA mass of fire\u201d would have been by no means an\ninappropriate name for a hero, who, as we shall see, was originally\nthe Accadian fire-god, and then a personified form of the sun-god.\nThe two last characters of the name, however, when used as a compound\nideograph, denoted \u201cthe under-lip,\u201d and the first character symbolizes\n\u201cwood.\u201d\n\nMr. Smith believed that Izdubar was the Biblical Nimrod, and was almost\ninclined to think that this was the way in which the name ought to be\nphonetically rendered. One passage, however, in which the last syllable\nis followed by the syllable _ra_ seems to imply that the final letter\nwas _r_.\n\nThe originally solar character of the hero was still remembered at the\ntime when the great Epic of the Accadians was put together. As was\npointed out by Sir Henry Rawlinson shortly after Mr. Smith\u2019s first\ndiscovery of it, it is arranged upon an astronomical principle, its\ntwelve books or tablets corresponding with the twelve signs of the\nZodiac, through which the sun passes in his yearly course. Thus the\neleventh tablet, which contains the episode of the Deluge, answers to\nAquarius the eleventh sign of the Zodiac, and the eleventh month of the\nAccadian year called \u201cthe rainy;\u201d and the sixth tablet, describing his\ncourtship by Istar, answers to Virgo the sixth sign of the Zodiac, and\nthe sixth Accadian month called that \u201cof the errand of Istar.\u201d It is in\nthe second month, that of \u201cthe directing bull,\u201d and under the sign of\nTaurus, that Hea-bani, half-man, half-bull, is brought to Izdubar in\nthe second tablet; the lion is slain by Izdubar under the Zodiacal Leo,\nand the lamentation he makes over the corpse of his friend and seer\nHea-bani is made in \u201cthe dark month\u201d of Adar, as it was termed, at the\nend of the year. Like the autumnal sun, too, Izdubar sickens in the\neighth book corresponding with the month of October, and only recovers\nhis health and brilliance after bathing in the waters of the eastern\nocean at the beginning of the new year.\n\nIf anything were needed to confirm the solar character of Izdubar and\nhis history, it would be afforded by a comparison with the legends of\nthe Greek solar hero, Herakles. Like much else of Greek mythology, the\ntwelve adventures of Herakles were brought to Greece from Babylonia\nthrough the hands of the Ph\u0153nicians, and it has long been recognized\nthat Herakles is but a form of Baal Melkarth, the sun-god of Tyre.\nHea-bani reappears in Cheiron, the centaur, the friend and instructor\nof Herakles, and just as Hea-bani was created by Hea, Cheiron was said\nto be the son of Kronos, who is identified by Berosus with Hea in the\naccount of the Deluge. The lion slain by Izdubar is the lion of Nemea\nslain by Herakles; the winged bull made by Anu is the famous bull of\nKrete; the tyrant Khumbaba is the tyrant Geryon; the gems borne by the\ntrees of the forest beyond the gateway of the sun are the apples of the\nHesperides; and the deadly sickness of Izdubar himself is but the fever\nof Herakles, caused by the poisoned tunic of Nessus.\n\nA very slight inspection of the Epic is sufficient to show that it\nhas been pieced together out of a number of previously existing and\nindependent materials. Thus the history of the Deluge, which is itself\nbut an episode somewhat violently foisted into the legend of Izdubar\nin order to preserve the astronomical arrangement of the Epic, may be\nshown to have consisted of at least two older poems on the subject; and\na careful examination of other portions of the Epic brings the same\nfact to light elsewhere.\n\nAs, however, there is clear proof that the Epic was originally composed\nin Accadian, our present text being merely the Semitic translation of\nthe Accadian original, it must have existed in the form in which we now\nhave it before the age of Sargon and the extinction of the Accadian\nlanguage in Chaldea. We shall not be far wrong, therefore, in ascribing\nits composition to about B.C. 2000, or a little earlier. The older\nlays or poems out of which it was formed must therefore date before\nthis period. There seems to have been a considerable number of them,\neach incident in the cycle of ancient Accadian mythology having been\nthe subject of various poems. Many of these originated in different\nparts of the country, so that a long period of time must be allowed for\ntheir growth and subsequent reduction to a literary form. But as the\nlegends they celebrated were traditions in the country before they were\nembodied in poems and committed to writing, we must go back to quite a\nremote epoch for their first starting-point.\n\nThe earliest evidence we have of them is in the carvings on early\nBabylonian cylindrical seals. Among the earliest known devices on\nthese seals we have scenes from the legends of Izdubar, and from the\nstory of the Creation. The seals mostly belong to the age of the kings\nof Ur, and some of them are a good deal older than B.C. 2000. The\nprincipal incidents represented on them are the struggles of Izdubar\nand his companion Hea-bani with the lion and the bull, the journey of\nIzdubar in search of Xisuthrus, Noah or Xisuthrus in his ark, and the\nwar between Tiamtu the sea-dragon and the god Merodach. There is a\nfragment of a document in the British Museum which claims to be copied\nfrom an omen tablet belonging to the time of Izdubar himself, but it\nis probably not earlier than B.C. 1600, when many similar tablets were\nwritten.\n\nThere is an incidental notice of the ship or ark of \u201cthe god Izdubar\u201d\nin a tablet printed in \u201cCuneiform Inscriptions,\u201d vol. ii. p. 46.\nHe is here called \u201cthe king who bears the sceptre.\u201d This tablet,\nwhich contains lists of wooden objects, was written in the time of\nAssur-bani-pal, but is copied from an original, which must have been\nwritten at least eighteen hundred years before the Christian era.\nThe geographical notices on this tablet suit the period before the\nrise of Babylon. Surippak is called in it the ship or ark city, this\nname forming another reference to the Flood legends. Izdubar is also\nmentioned in a series of tablets relating to witchcraft, and on a\ntablet containing prayers to him as a god; this last showing that\nhe was deified, which, however, was an honour also given to several\nBabylonian kings.\n\nAs already stated, the legends of Izdubar are inscribed on twelve\ntablets, of which there are remains of at least four editions. All\nthe tablets are in fragments, and none of them are complete; but\nit is a fortunate circumstance that the most perfect tablet is the\neleventh, which describes the Deluge, this being the most important\nof the series. In the first chapter the successive steps in the\ndiscovery of these legends have been already described, and we may now\ntherefore pass on to the description and translation of the various\nfragments. All the fragments of our present copies belong to the reign\nof Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria, in the seventh century B.C. From\nthe mutilated condition of many of them it is impossible at present\nto gain an accurate idea of the whole scope of the legends, and many\nparts which are lost have to be supplied by conjecture; the order even\nof some of the tablets cannot be determined, and it is uncertain if\nwe have fragments of the whole twelve in what follows. Mr. Smith has,\nhowever, conjecturally divided the fragments into groups corresponding\nroughly with the subjects of the tablets. Each tablet when complete\ncontained six columns of writing, and each column had generally from\nforty to fifty lines of writing, there being in all about 3,000 lines\nof cuneiform text. The divisions adopted by Mr. Smith will be seen by\nthe following summary, which exhibits our present knowledge of the\nfragments.\n\n\n_Part I.\u2014Introduction._\n\nTablet I.\u2014Number of lines uncertain, probably about 240. First column\ninitial line preserved, second column lost, third column twenty-six\nlines preserved, fourth column doubtful fragment inserted, fifth and\nsixth columns lost.\n\nProbable subjects: conquest of Babylonia by the Elamites, birth and\nparentage of Izdubar.\n\n\n_Part II.\u2014Meeting of Hea-bani and Izdubar._\n\nTablet II.\u2014Number of lines uncertain, probably about 240. First and\nsecond columns lost, third and fourth columns about half-preserved,\nfifth and sixth columns lost.\n\nTablet III.\u2014Number of lines about 270. First column fourteen lines\npreserved, second, third, fourth, and fifth columns nearly perfect,\nsixth column a fragment.\n\nProbable subjects: dream of Izdubar, Hea-bani invited comes to Erech,\nand explains the dream.\n\n\n_Part III.\u2014Destruction of the tyrant Khumbaba._\n\nTablet IV.\u2014Number of lines probably about 260. About one-third of\nfirst, second, and third columns, doubtful fragments of fourth, fifth,\nand sixth columns.\n\nTablet V.\u2014Number of lines about 260. Most of first column, and part\nof second column preserved, third, fourth, and fifth columns lost,\nfragment of sixth column.\n\nProbable subjects: contests with wild animals, Izdubar and Hea-bani\nslay the tyrant Khumbaba.\n\n\n_Part IV.\u2014Adventures of Istar._\n\nTablet VI.\u2014Number of lines about 210. Most of first column preserved,\nsecond column nearly perfect, third and fourth columns partly\npreserved, fifth and sixth columns nearly perfect.\n\nTablet VII.\u2014Number of lines probably about 240. First line of first\ncolumn preserved, second column lost, third and fourth column partly\npreserved, fifth and sixth columns conjecturally restored from tablet\nof descent of Istar into Hades.\n\nProbable subjects: Istar loves Izdubar, her amours, her ascent to\nheaven, destruction of her bull, her descent to Hades.\n\n\n_Part V.\u2014Illness and wanderings of Izdubar._\n\nTablet VIII.\u2014Number of lines probably about 270. Conjectured fragments\nof first, second, and third columns, fourth and fifth columns lost,\nconjectured fragments of sixth column.\n\nTablet IX.\u2014Number of lines about 190. Portions of all six columns\npreserved.\n\nTablet X.\u2014Number of lines about 270. Portions of all six columns\npreserved.\n\nProbable subjects: discourse to trees, dreams, illness of Izdubar,\ndeath of Hea-bani, wanderings of Izdubar in search of the hero of the\nDeluge.\n\n\n_Part VI.\u2014Description of Deluge, and conclusion._\n\nTablet XI.\u2014Number of lines 294. All six columns nearly perfect.\n\nTablet XII.\u2014Number of lines about 200. Portions of first four columns\npreserved, two lines of fifth column, sixth column perfect.\n\nProbable subjects: description of Deluge, cure of Izdubar, his\nlamentation over Hea-bani.\n\n\nTABLET I.\n\nThe opening words of the first tablet are preserved, and form as usual\nthe title of the series, but the expressions used are obscure from want\nof any context to explain them. There are two principal or key-words,\n_naqbi_ and _kugar_; the first of which means \u201ca channel,\u201d and is more\nparticularly applied to the canals with which Babylonia was intersected\nand watered, while the second is the compound ideograph which literally\nsignifies \u201cminister\u201d or \u201cservant of work.\u201d It was the special title\nof Izdubar, who, like his Greek double Herakles, was celebrated for\n\u2018the twelve labours\u2019 he successfully undertook. The title had no doubt\nbeen originally given to the fire-god, in whom primitive man sees his\nmost useful servant and workman. The first line of the Epic would\nconsequently have run: \u201cThe canals, the toiling hero, the god Izdubar,\nhad seen.\u201d Elsewhere, however, the title of Izdubar is written _Zicar_,\nthat is, \u201cthe male\u201d or \u201chero.\u201d\n\nAfter the heading and opening line there is a considerable blank in the\nstory, two columns of writing being entirely lost. It is probable that\nthis part contained the account of the parentage and previous history\nof Izdubar, forming the introduction to the story. In the subsequent\nportions of the history there is very little information to supply the\nloss of this part of the inscription; but it appears that the mother\nof Izdubar was named Dannat, which signifies \u201cthe powerful lady.\u201d His\nfather is not named in any of our present fragments, but he is referred\nto in the third tablet. He was no doubt a deity, possibly the Sun-god,\nwho is supposed to interfere very much in his behalf. When Izdubar,\nthe old god of fire, after first becoming a form of the solar deity,\nwas finally personified and regarded as a mighty leader, strong in war\nand hunting, he was turned into a giant, one of the mythical monarchs\nwho had ruled in Babylonia in long-past days, and had subdued the many\npetty kingdoms into which the valley of the Euphrates was then divided.\n\nThe centre of the empire of Izdubar is laid in the region of Shinar,\nor Sumir, Erech \u201cthe lofty\u201d being the chief seat of his power, and\nthus agrees with the site of the kingdom of Nimrod, according to\nGenesis x. 8, 9, 10, where we read: \u201cAnd Cush begat Nimrod: he began\nto be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the\nLord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before\nthe Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and\nAccad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.\u201d We cannot overlook the fact\nthat the character of Izdubar as hunter, leader, and king, corresponds\nwith that of Nimrod. Cush, the father of Nimrod, may be identified\nwith Cusu, Cusi or Cus, the Accadian deity of sunset and night. The\nword in Accadian signified \u201crest\u201d and \u201cdarkness,\u201d and is translated\nby the Assyrian _nakhu_ \u201cto rest,\u201d and _nukhu_ or _nukh_ \u201crest.\u201d This\nlatter word is identical with the Biblical Noah. It is very possible,\ntherefore, that Cush, the father of Nimrod, has nothing to do with\nCush or Ethiopia, the son of Ham, the two being set side by side in\nGenesis merely on account of the similarity of their names. In this\ncase all the ethnological difficulties occasioned by the belief that\nthe Accadians of Babylonia were Cushites, and connected with Egypt or\nEthiopia, will be avoided. It is curious to find the Christian writers\nidentifying Nimrod with Evechous, the first king of Babylon, according\nto Berosus, after the flood.\n\nThe next passage in Genesis after the one describing Nimrod\u2019s dominion\nmay also refer to Nimrod, if we read with the margin, \u201cOut of that land\nhe went forth to Assyria,\u201d instead of \u201cOut of that land went forth\nAssur.\u201d These verses will then read (Genesis x. 11, 12): \u201cOut of that\nland he went forth to Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and the suburbs of\nthe city, and Calah, and Resen, between Nineveh and Calah: the same is\na great city.\u201d It must be remembered, however, that Assur was regarded\nby the Assyrians as their supreme god and eponymous founder, and that\nin Micah v. 6, \u201cthe land of Assur\u201d and \u201cthe land of Nimrod\u201d seem to\nbe contrasted with one another. But it is possible to consider the\ntwo expressions in the latter passage to be both applied to the same\ncountry.\n\nAfter the date of the later books of the Old Testament we know nothing\nof Nimrod for some time; it is probable that he was fully mentioned\nby Berosus in his history, but his account of the giant hunter has\nbeen lost. The reason of this appears to be, that a belief had grown\nup among early Christian writers that the Biblical Nimrod was the\nfirst king of Babylonia after the Flood, and looking at the list of\nBerosus they found that after the Flood according to him Evechous\nfirst reigned in Babylonia, and at once assumed that the Evechous of\nBerosus was the Nimrod of the Bible; but as Evechous has given to him\nthe extravagant reign of four ners or 2,400 years, and his son and\nsuccessor, Chomasbelus, four ners and five sosses, or 2,700 years, this\nidentification gives little hope of our finding an historical Nimrod.\n\nIt is possible that this identification of Nimrod with Evechous, made\nby the early chronologists, has caused them to overlook his name and\ntrue epoch in the list of Berosus, and has thus lost to us his position\nin the series of Babylonian sovereigns.\n\nBelonging to the first centuries of the Christian era are the works of\nvarious Jewish and Christian writers, who have made us familiar with a\nnumber of later traditions concerning Nimrod. Josephus declares that\nhe was a prime mover in building the Tower of Babel, an enemy of God,\nand that he reigned at Babylon during the dispersion. Later writers\nmake him a contemporary with Abraham, the inventor of idol worship,\nand a furious worshipper of fire. At the city of Orfa, in Syria, he is\nsaid to have cast Abraham into a burning fiery furnace because he would\nnot bow down to his idols. These legends have been taken up by the\nArabs, and although his history has been lost and replaced by absurd\nand worthless stories, Nimrod still remains the most prominent name in\nthe traditions of the country; everything good or evil is attributed to\nhim, and the most important ruins are even now called after his name.\nFrom the time of the early Christian writers down to to-day, men have\nbeen busy framing systems of general chronology, and since Nimrod was\nalways known as a famous sovereign it was necessary to find a definite\nplace for him in each chronological scheme. Africanus and Eusebius held\nthat he was the Evechous of Berosus, and reigned first after the Flood.\nMoses of Khorene identified him with Bel, the great god of Babylon;\nand he is said to have extended his dominions to the foot of the\nArmenian mountains, falling in battle there when attempting to enforce\nhis authority over Haic, king of Armenia. Other writers identified\nNimrod with Ninus, the mythical founder of the city of Nineveh. These\nremained the principal identifications before modern research took up\nthe matter; but so wide a door was open to conjecture, that one writer\nactually identified Nimrod with the Alorus of Berosus, the first king\nof Babylonia _before_ the Flood.\n\nOne of the most curious theories about Nimrod, suggested in modern\ntimes, was grounded on the \u201cBook of Nabatean Agriculture.\u201d This work is\na comparatively modern forgery, pretending to be a literary production\nof the early Chaldean period. In this work Nimrod heads a list of\nBabylonian kings called _Canaanite_, and a writer in the \u201cJournal of\nSacred Literature\u201d has argued with considerable force in favour of\nthese Canaanites being the Arabs of Berosus, who reigned about B.C.\n1550 to 1300. The southern half of Arabia is known as Cush in the Old\nTestament like the opposite coast of Africa, and, as Nimrod is called\na Cushite in Genesis, there was a great temptation to identify him\nwith the leader of the Arab dynasty. This idea, however, gained little\nfavour, and has not been held by any section of inquirers as fixing\nthe position of Nimrod. The discovery of the cuneiform inscriptions\nthrew a new light on the subject of Babylonian history, and soon after\nthe decipherment of the inscriptions attention was directed to the\nquestion of the identity and age of Nimrod. Sir Henry Rawlinson, the\nfather of Assyrian discovery, first seriously attempted to fix the name\nof Nimrod in the cuneiform inscriptions, and he endeavoured to find\nthe name in that of the second god of the great Chaldean triad. (See\nRawlinson\u2019s \u201cAncient Monarchies,\u201d vol. i.\u202fp. 117.) The names of this\ndeity are really Enu, Elum, and Bel, and he was evidently worshipped at\nthe dawn of Babylonian history, and is in fact represented as one of\nthe creators of the world; time, moreover, has shown that the cuneiform\ncharacters on which the identification was grounded do not bear the\nphonetic values then supposed.\n\nSir Henry Rawlinson also suggested (\u201cAncient Monarchies,\u201d p. 136) that\nthe god Nergal was a deification of Nimrod. Nergal, however, which\nmeans literally \u201cthe illuminator of Hades,\u201d was a god of the lower\nworld, and even if Nimrod was deified under the name of Nergal this\ndoes not explain his position or epoch.\n\nCanon Rawlinson, brother of Sir Henry, in the first volume of his\n\u201cAncient Monarchies,\u201d p. 153, and following, makes some judicious\nremarks on the chronological position of Nimrod, and suggests that he\nmay have reigned a century or two before B.C. 2286; he asserts the\nhistorical character of his reign, and supposes him to have founded the\nBabylonian monarchy, but does not himself identify him with any king\nknown from the inscriptions. At the time when this was written (1871),\nthe conclusions of Canon Rawlinson were the most satisfactory that\nhad been advanced since the discovery of the cuneiform inscriptions.\nSince this time, however, some new theories have been started, with the\nidea of identifying Nimrod; one of these, brought forward by Professor\nOppert, makes the word a geographical term, but such an explanation is\nevidently quite insufficient to account for the traditions attached to\nthe name.\n\nAnother theory brought forward by the Rev. A.\u202fH. Sayce and Josef\nGrivel, \u201cTransactions of Society of Biblical Arch\u00e6ology,\u201d vol. ii.\npart 2, p. 243, and vol. iii. part 1, p. 136, identifies Nimrod with\nMerodach, the god of Babylon; partly on the ground of the similarity of\nname, Merodach being Amar-utuci or Amar-ud in Accadian, partly because\nMerodach the patron-deity of Babylon stood in the same relation to that\ncity that Asshur did to Assyria (see Micah v. 6), and partly since we\nfind Merodach called \u201ca hero\u201d like Nimrod in Genesis, and assigned\n\u201cfour divine dogs\u201d as though he were a hunter. These dogs are Uccumu\n\u201cthe despoiler,\u201d Acculu \u201cthe devourer,\u201d Icsuda \u201cthe capturer,\u201d and\nIltebu \u201cthe carrier away.\u201d Merodach, it must be remembered, is always\nrepresented as a man, and is armed with weapons of war.\n\nMr. Smith first fancied that Nimrod might be Khammuragas, whom he\nidentified with the first Arab king of Berosus, as this line of kings\nappeared to be connected with the Coss\u00e6ans. This identification\nfailing, after the discovery of the Deluge tablet in 1872, he\nconjectured that the hero whose name is provisionally read Izdubar is\nthe Nimrod of the Bible, a conjecture which has since been adopted by\nseveral other scholars.\n\nThe supposition that Nimrod was an ethnic or geographical name,\nwhich was at one time favoured by Sir Henry Rawlinson, and has since\nbeen urged by Professor Oppert, is quite untenable, for it would be\nimpossible on this theory to account for certain features in what we\nare told of the hero.\n\nMr. Smith\u2019s opinion that he was the hero of the Izdubar Epic was first\nfounded on the discovery that the latter formed the centre of the\nnational historical poetry, and was the hero of Babylonian legend\u2014in\nfact, occupies much the same place as Nimrod in later Arab tradition.\n\nIzdubar, moreover, agrees _exactly_ in character with Nimrod; he was\na hunter, according to the cuneiform legends, who contended with and\ndestroyed the lion, tiger, leopard, and wild bull or buffalo, animals\nthe most formidable in the chase in any country. He ruled first in\nBabylonia over the region which from other sources we know to have\nbeen the centre of Nimrod\u2019s kingdom. The principal scene, too, of\nhis exploits and triumphs was the city of Erech, which, according to\nGenesis, was the second capital of Nimrod.\n\nThere remains the fact that the cuneiform name of this hero is\nundeciphered, the name Izdubar being a mere makeshift. It is possible\nthat when the phonetic reading of the characters is found it will turn\nout to correspond with the name Nimrod. At all events it is noteworthy\nthat Izdubar seems to have been specially connected with the town of\nMarad, the original Accadian name of which was Amarda, and that the\nAccadian _an Amarda_ or \u201cgod of Amarda,\u201d closely corresponds with the\nBiblical name of Nimrod. The translations and notes given in this book\nwill lead, perhaps, to the general admission of the identity of the\nhero Izdubar with the traditional Nimrod; but this result can be firmly\nestablished only when more evidence is before us than that which we\nhave at present.\n\nAt the time of the opening of the Epic, the great city of the south\nof Babylonia, and the capital of this part of the country, was Uruk,\ncalled in Genesis, Erech. Erech was devoted to the worship of Anu, the\ngod of heaven, and his wife, the goddess Anatu, as well as of Istar,\nthe Ph\u0153nician Ashtoreth, or Astarte, the myth of whose love for the\nSun-god Dumuzi or Tammuz, the Adonis of Greek story, is alluded to in\nthe course of the poem. The worship of Anatu, however, was subsequent\nto the Semitic occupation of the country, since the necessity of\nproviding a female deity by the side of every male one was not felt\nuntil the Accadians, whose language was unacquainted with genders, were\nsucceeded by the Semites with their nouns either masculine or feminine.\n\nHere may provisionally be placed the first fragment of the Izdubar\nlegends, K 3200. This fragment consists of part of the third column of\na tablet, which is probably the first; and it gives an account of a\nconquest of Erech by its enemies. The fragment reads:\u2014\n\n1. his ..... he left\n\n2. ....... and he goes down to the river,\n\n3. .... in the river his ship is made good.\n\n4. .... he is .... and he weeps bitterly\n\n5. .... placed, the city of Ganganna which had (suffered) destruction.\n\n6. .... their _samuri_ (were) she asses\n\n7. .... their _raburi_ (were) great wild bulls.\n\n8. Like cattle the people fears,\n\n9. like doves the slaves mourn.\n\n10. The gods of Erech the lofty\n\n11. turned to flies and brood in swarms.\n\n12. The spirits (_sedu_) of Erech the lofty\n\n13. turned to cocks and went forth in outposts.\n\n14. For three years the city of Erech does the enemy besiege,\n\n15. the great gates were thrown down and trampled upon,\n\n16. the goddess Istar before its enemies could not lift her head.\n\n17. Bel his mouth opened and speaks,\n\n18. to Istar the queen a speech he makes:\n\n19. ..... in the midst of Nipur my hands have placed,\n\n20. .... my country? Babylon (Din-tir) the house of my delight,\n\n21. my .... I gave my hands.\n\n22. ..... he was favourable to the sanctuaries\n\n23. ..... in the day ....\n\n24. ..... the great gods. ....\n\nHere we have a graphic account of the condition of Erech, when the\nenemy overran the country, and the first question which occurs is, who\nwere these conquerors? Conjecture is idle in the want of evidence.\nThey may have been the Semitic successors of the Accadians, they may\nhave been the Medes of Berosus, or they may have been tribes who belong\nonly to the realm of mythology. Mr. Smith believed that they were the\nsubjects of Khumbaba, the tyrant whose death is related in the fourth\nbook of the Epic, and who ruled over the land of Elam.\n\nThe name of Khumbaba, or Khubaba, as it is occasionally written, is\nprobably a compound of \u201cKhumba,\u201d or \u201cKhumbume,\u201d the name of one of the\nchief Elamite gods. Many other Elamite names compounded with Khumba\nare mentioned in the inscriptions: Khumba-sidir, an early chief;\nKhumba-undasa, an Elamite general opposed to Sennacherib; Khumba-nigas,\nan Elamite monarch opposed to Sargon; Tul-khumba, an Elamite city, &c.\n\nThe notice of foreign dominion, and particularly of Elamite supremacy\nat this time, may, perhaps, form a clue from which to ascertain the\napproximate age of the poems as we have them. We know that myths are\nlocalized in the country of those who hand them down to posterity, and\nassigned to an age which has made an impression on their narrators.\nThere must have been some reason for the legendary siege and capture of\nErech, some actual event around which the story of Izdubar has entwined\nitself.\n\nLooking at the fragments of Berosus and the notices of Greek and Roman\nauthors, we may ask whether there is any epoch of conquest and foreign\ndominion which can be fixed upon as representing such an actual event?\nLet us glance for a moment at the earlier history of Babylonia so far\nas it is known to us.\n\nThe earlier part of the list of dynasties quoted from Berosus gives the\nfollowing periods from the Flood downwards:\u2014\n\n 86 Chaldean kings from the Flood down to the Median conquest, reigning\n for 34,080 or 33,091 years.\n\n 8 Median kings who conquered and held Babylon, 234, or 224, or 190\n years.\n\n 11 other kings, race and duration unknown.\n\n 49 Chaldean kings, for 458 years.\n\nThe last of these dynasties preceded a dynasty of kings called Arabian\nby the copyists of Berosus, and though neither the number of the reigns\nnor the length of time assigned to the dynasty agrees with what the\nmonuments tell us of the Cassite or Coss\u00e6an line of kings, there is\nno other line which can in any way be identified with the Arabians\nof the Babylonian historian. The 49 Chaldean kings must, therefore,\nhave reigned before Khammuragas, that is before B.C. 2000-1750. Now\nan inscription of Nabonidus informs us that Lig-bagas, the first\nmonarch of all Chaldea of whom we know, flourished 700 years anterior\nto the reign of Khammuragas; he would, therefore, come among the 11\nnameless kings of Berosus, supposing any reliance can be placed on the\nstatements of the latter, and about 250 years before the accession of\nthe Chaldean dynasty. But the engraved cylinders and seals of the\nage of Lig-bagas show that the legend of Izdubar was already popular,\nand we must accordingly seek a still older period in which to place\nits origin and attachment to a particular historical event. Hence it\nmay well be that the siege of Erech, the memory of which is preserved\nin the first book of the Izdubar Epic, was the work of those foreign\ninvaders whom the Babylonian historian has termed Median.\n\nNow it is not improbable that the Median dynasty was really Elamite; or\nat all events belonged to the same race as the primitive inhabitants of\nElam. This race was closely allied to the Accadians; and it was spread\nover the whole range of country which stretched from the southern\nshores of the Caspian to the Persian Gulf. The Protomedes, as they are\nsometimes called, were not conquered and supplanted by Aryan invaders\nfrom the east till the ninth century B.C. It was in their country that\nKharsak-kurra, \u201cthe Mountain of the East,\u201d was localized whereon the\nAccadians and their kinsfolk in Elam and Media believed the ark to\nhave rested after the Flood, and which they regarded as the cradle\nof their race. It was therefore pre-eminently \u201cthe land,\u201d _mada_ in\nAccadian, and from this _mada_ there is every reason to think the name\nof Media has been derived. Consequently, the Medians of Berosus, the\ninhabitants of _mada_ \u201cthe land\u201d of the east, need not have been more\nthan one of the many Elamite swarms that from time to time descended\ninto the fertile plains of Babylonia, and not unfrequently obtained\na settlement there. Such were the Accadians, or \u201cHighlanders\u201d\nthemselves; such, too, the two Cassite or Coss\u00e6an dynasties which we\nlearn from the monuments long held sway over Chaldea.\n\n[Illustration: MIGRATION OF EASTERN TRIBE; FROM EARLY BABYLONIAN\nCYLINDER.]\n\nAn early Babylonian cylinder, which came from Erech and originally\nbelonged to a member of the royal family of that city, presents us\nwith a curious picture of a rude nomad tribe apparently arriving in\nBabylonia. The chief marches in front armed with bow and arrows, and\nwearing the same kind of boots with turned-up ends as distinguished the\nHittites in ancient times and are still worn in Asia Minor and Greece.\nThey indicate that the wearer came from a cold and mountainous country.\nThe animals\u2019 skins which compose the dresses of his three retainers\nalso point to a similar conclusion. Besides the retainers, the wife of\nthe chief is depicted, as well as two slaves who carry some objects\non their shoulders. Unfortunately no light is cast upon the group\nby the inscription, which simply states that the cylinder belonged\nto \u201cGibil-dur (or Ne-Zicum), the brother of the king of Erech, the\nlibrarian, thy servant.\u201d All we can gather from it is that the famous\nlibrary of Erech, which furnished Assur-bani-pal and his scribes with\nthe original texts of the Izdubar Epic, was already in existence, and\nthat the office of librarian was considered honourable enough to be\nborne by a brother of the reigning monarch.\n\nIf the legendary siege of Erech is not to be referred to the epoch\nof the Median conquest, it may have fallen at the time when the\nimage of the goddess Nana was carried away from Erech by the Elamite\nking Kudur-nankhundi, 1635 years before the capture of Shushan, the\ncapital of Elam, by the Assyrians (about B.C. 645), and consequently\nabout B.C. 2280. A fragment which refers to this period in \u201cCuneiform\nInscriptions,\u201d vol. iii. p. 38, relates the destruction wrought in the\ncountry by the Elamites, and makes Kudur-nankhundi follow one of the\nother monarchs of an Elamite dynasty and exceed his predecessors in the\ninjury he did to the country.\n\nPutting together the detached notices of this period, the following may\napproximately represent the chronology, the dates being understood as\nround numbers.\n\n? B.C. 2750, Elamites (Medes) overrun Babylonia.\n\nB.C. 2280, Kudur-nankhundi, king of Elam, ravages Erech.\n\nB.C. 1800, Khammuragas conquers Babylonia.\n\nAlthough the dates transmitted through ancient authors are as a rule\nvague and doubtful, there are many independent notices which seem to\npoint to somewhere about the twenty-third century before the Christian\nera for the foundation of the Babylonian and Assyrian power. Several\nof these dates are connected either directly or by implication with\nNimrod, who first formed a united empire over these regions.\n\nThe following are some of these notices:\u2014\n\nSimplicius relates that Callisthenes, the friend of Alexander, sent to\nAristotle from Babylon a series of stellar observations reaching back\n1,903 years before the taking of Babylon by Alexander. This would make\n1903 + 331 = B.C. 2234.\n\nBerosus and Critodemus are said by Pliny to have made the inscribed\nstellar observations reach to 480 years before the era of Phoroneus; as\nthe latter date was supposed to be about the middle of the eighteenth\ncentury B.C., 480 years before it comes also to about the period of\nKudur-nankhundi.\n\nDiodorus makes the Assyrian empire commence a thousand years or more\nbefore the Trojan war.\n\nCtesias and Cephalion make its foundation early in the twenty-second\ncentury B.C.\n\nThe two last statements, however, are probably derived from Ctesias,\nwhose so-called history has been shown by cuneiform decipherment to\nhave been a mere fiction put together out of misunderstood myths\nand fragments of theology. In any case, too, they apply only to the\nfoundation of the Assyrian power, which was modern as compared with\nthat of Babylonia, in spite of the assertion of Sargon, who boasts of\nhaving been preceded on the throne by 350 kings.\n\nOf the latter part of the first tablet of the Izdubar Epic we have as\nyet no knowledge.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nMEETING OF HEA-BANI AND IZDUBAR.\n\n Dream of Izdubar.\u2014Hea-bani.\u2014His wisdom.\u2014His solitary life.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s\n petition.\u2014Zaidu.\u2014Kharimtu and Samkhat.\u2014Tempt Hea-bani.\u2014Might and fame\n of Izdubar.\u2014Speech of Hea-bani.\u2014His journey to Erech.\u2014The midannu or\n tiger.\u2014Festival at Erech.\u2014Dream of Izdubar.\u2014Friendship with Hea-bani.\n\n\nIn this chapter are included the fragments of what appear to be the\nsecond and third tablets or books. In this section of the story Izdubar\ncomes prominently forward, and meets with Hea-bani. The notice of his\nmother Dannat appears in one of the tablets given in this chapter.\n\nIzdubar, in the Babylonian and Assyrian sculptures, is always\nrepresented with a marked physiognomy, and his peculiarities can be\nseen by noticing the photograph from a Babylonian gem at the beginning\nof the book, the engraving from an Assyrian sculpture in the last\nchapter, and the engraving in page 249 showing Izdubar and Hea-bani\nstruggling with wild animals. In all these cases, and in every other\ninstance where Izdubar is represented, he is indicated as a man with\nmasses of curls over his head and a large curly beard. The type is so\nmarked and so distinct from either the Assyrian or the Babylonian one\nthat it is hard to say to what race it should be attached.\n\nThe deity of Izdubar was Lugal-turda, the god who was changed into the\nbird of storm according to the old myth, from which it may be supposed\nthat he was a native of the district of Amarda or Marad, where that\ngod was worshipped. This district Mr. Smith thought was probably the\nAmordacia or Mardoc\u00e6a of Ptolemy, but its situation is uncertain.\n\nThe fragments of the second and third tablets assume by their notices\nthat Izdubar was already known as a mighty hunter, and it appears a\nlittle later that he claimed descent from the old Babylonian heroes, as\nhe calls Xisuthrus, the Chaldean Noah, his \u201cfather.\u201d\n\n\nTABLET II.\n\nA single fragment which Mr. Smith believed to belong to this tablet has\nbeen found; it is K 3389, and contains part of the third and fourth\ncolumns of writing. It appears from this that Izdubar was then at\nErech, and had a curious dream. He thought he saw the stars of heaven\nfall to the ground, and in their descent they struck upon his back.\nHe then saw standing over him a terrible being, the aspect of whose\nface was fierce, and who was armed with claws, like the claws of lions.\nThe greater part of the description of the dream is lost; it probably\noccupied Columns I. and II. of the second tablet. Thinking that the\ndream portended some fate to himself, Izdubar calls on all the wise men\nto explain it, and offers a reward to any one who can interpret the\ndream. Here the fragment K 3389 comes in:\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. .... _ru kili_ I ....\n\n2. .... he and the princes may he ...\n\n3. .... in the vicinity send him,\n\n4. .... may they ennoble his family,\n\n5. .... at the head of his feast may he set thee\n\n6. .... may he array thee in jewels and gold\n\n7. .... may he enclose thee\n\n8. .... in his .... seat thee\n\n9. into the houses of the gods may he cause thee to enter\n\n10. .... seven wives\n\n11. .... cause illness in his stomach\n\n12. .... went up alone\n\n13. .... his heaviness to his friend\n\n14. .... a dream I dreamed in my sleep\n\n15. .... the stars of heaven fell to the earth\n\n16. .... I stood still\n\n17. .... his face\n\n18. .... his face was terrible\n\n19. .... like the claws of a lion, were his claws.\n\n20. .... the strength in me\n\n21. .... he slew\n\n22. .... me\n\n23. .... over me\n\n24. .... corpse ....\n\nThe first part of this fragment appears to recount the honours offered\nby Izdubar to any one who should interpret the dream. These included\nthe ennobling of his family, his recognition in assemblies, his being\ninvested with jewels of honour, and his wives being increased. A\ndescription of the dream of the hero, much mutilated, follows. The\nconduct of Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel, with reference to his\ndreams, bears some resemblance to that of Izdubar.\n\nAfter this fragment we have again a blank in the story, and it would\nappear that in this interval application was made to a nondescript\ncreature named Hea-bani that he would go to the city of Erech and\ninterpret the dream of Izdubar.\n\nHea-bani appears, from the representations on seals and other objects\non which he is figured, to have been a satyr or faun. He is always\ndrawn with the feet and tail of an ox, and with horns on his head. He\nis said to have lived in a cave among the wild animals of the forest,\nand was supposed to possess wonderful knowledge both of nature and\nhuman affairs. In appearance he resembles the _se\u2019irim_ or hairy\ndemons, half men, half goats, who inhabited the deserts and were\na terror to passers-by. Reference is made to them in Lev. xvii. 7,\n2 Chron. xi. 15, Is. xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14, from which we learn that\nworship was paid to them, and that they were supposed to be specially\nconnected with the neighbourhood of Babylon. Hea-bani was angry at the\nrequest that he should abandon his solitary life for the friendship of\nIzdubar, and where our narrative reopens the god Samas is persuading\nhim to accept the offer. It may be added that the name Hea-bani\nsignifies \u201cHea created me,\u201d from which we may infer that the monster\nwas believed to have originally ascended like Oannes out of the abysses\nof the sea.\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. ... me\n\n2. ... on my back\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. And Samas opened his mouth\n\n4. and spake and from heaven said to him:\n\n5. .... and the female Samkhat thou shalt choose\n\n6. they shall array thee in trappings of divinity\n\n7. they shall give thee the insignia of royalty\n\n8. they shall make thee become great\n\n9. and Izdubar thou shalt call and incline him towards thee\n\n10. and Izdubar shall make friendship unto thee\n\n11. he shall cause thee to recline on a grand couch\n\n12. on a beautiful couch he shall seat thee\n\n13. he will cause thee to sit on a comfortable seat a seat on the left\n\n14. the kings of the earth shall kiss thy feet\n\n15. he shall enrich thee and the men of Erech he shall make silent\nbefore thee\n\n16. and he after thee shall take all ....\n\n17. he shall clothe thy body in raiment and ....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n18. Hea-bani heard the words of Samas the warrior\n\n19. and the anger of his heart was appeased\n\n20. .... was appeased\n\nHere we are still dealing with the honours which Izdubar promises to\nthe interpreter of his dream, and these seem to show that Izdubar had\nsome power at Erech at this time; he does not, however, appear to have\nbeen an independent king, and it is probable that the next two columns\nof this tablet, now lost, contain negotiations for bringing Hea-bani to\nErech, the subject being continued on the third tablet.\n\n\nTABLET III.\n\nThis tablet is far better preserved than the two previous ones; it\ngives the account of the successful mission to bring Hea-bani to Erech,\nopening with a broken account of the wisdom of Hea-bani.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. .... knows all things\n\n2. .... and difficult\n\n3. .... wisdom of all things\n\n4. .... the knowledge that is seen and that which is hidden\n\n5. .... bring word of peace to ....\n\n6. from a far off road he will come and I rest and ....\n\n7. .... on tablets and all that rests ....\n\n8. .... and tower of Erech the lofty\n\n9. .... beautiful\n\n10. .... which like ....\n\n11. .... I strove with him not to leave ....\n\n12. .... god? who from ....\n\n13. .... carry ....\n\n14. .... leave ....\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. Izdubar did not leave .....\n\n2. Daughter of a warrior .......\n\n3. their might ......\n\n4. the gods of heaven, lord ......\n\n5. thou makest to be sons and family? .....\n\n6. there is not any other like thee ......\n\n7. in the depth made ......\n\n8. Izdubar did not leave, the son to his father day and night ......\n\n9. he the ruler also of Erech ......\n\n10. he their ruler and ......\n\n11. made firm? and wise ......\n\n12. Izdubar did not leave Dannat, the son to his mother ......\n\n13. Daughter of a warrior, wife of .....\n\n14. their might the god .... heard and ...\n\n15. Aruru strong and great, thou Aruru hast made ......\n\n16. again making his strength, one day his heart ......\n\n17. he changed and the city of Erech ......\n\n18. Aruru on hearing this, the strength of Anu made in the midst ......\n\n19. Aruru put in her hands, she bowed her breast and lay on the ground\n\n20. ... Hea-bani she made a warrior, begotten of the seed of the\nsoldier Ninip\n\n21. ...... covered his body, retiring in companionship like a woman,\n\n22. the features of his aspect were concealed like the corn god\n\n23. possessing knowledge of men and countries, in clothing clothed like\nthe god Ner\n\n24. with the gazelles he ate food in the night\n\n25. with the beasts of the field he consorted in the day\n\n26. with the creeping things of the waters his heart delighted\n\n27. Zaidu catcher of men\n\n28. in front of that field confronted him\n\n29. the first day the second day and the third in the front of that\nfield the same,\n\n30. the courage of Zaidu dried up before him\n\n31. and he and his beast entered into his house and\n\n32. .... fear dried up and overcome\n\n33. .... his courage grew before him\n\n34. .... his face was terrible\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. Zaidu opened his mouth and spake and said to ......\n\n2. My father the first leader who shall go ....\n\n3. in the land of ......\n\n4. like the soldier of Anu ......\n\n5. shall march over the country ......\n\n6. and firmly with the beast ......\n\n7. and firmly his feet in the front of the field ...\n\n8. I feared and I did not approach it\n\n9. he filled the cave which he had dug\n\n10. .....\n\n11. I ascended on my hands to the ....\n\n12. I did not reach to the .....\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. .... and said to Zaidu\n\n14. .... Erech, Izdubar\n\n15. .... ascend his field\n\n16. .... his might\n\n17. .... thy face\n\n18. .... the might of a man\n\n19. ......\n\n20. .... like a chief\n\n21. ...... field\n\n22 to 24. three lines of directions.\n\n25. According to the advice of his father ....\n\n26. Zaidu went .....\n\n27. he took the road and in the midst of Erech he halted\n\n28. .... Izdubar ....\n\n29. the first leader who shall go ....\n\n30. in the land of ....\n\n31. like the soldier of Anu ....\n\n32. shall march over the country ....\n\n33. and firmly with the beast ....\n\n34. and firmly his feet ....\n\n35. I feared and I did not approach it\n\n36. he filled the cave which he had dug\n\n37. ......\n\n38. I ascended on my hands .....\n\n39. I was not able to reach to the covert.\n  \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n40. Izdubar to him also said to Zaidu:\n\n41. go Zaidu and with thee Kharimtu, and Samkhat take,\n\n42. and when the beast ... in front of the field\n\n43 to 45. directions to the women how to entice Hea-bani.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n46. Zaidu went and with him Kharimtu, and Samkhat he took, and\n\n47. they took the road, and went along the path.\n\n48. On the third day they reached the land where the flood happened.\n\n49. Zaidu and Kharimtu in their places sat,\n\n50. the first day and the second day in front of the field they sat,\n\n51. the land where the beast drank of drink,\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. the land where the creeping things of the water rejoiced his heart.\n\n2. And he Hea-bani had made for himself a mountain\n\n3. with the gazelles he ate food,\n\n4. with the beasts he drank of drink,\n\n5. with the creeping things of the waters his heart rejoiced.\n\n6. Samkhat the enticer of men saw him\n\n7 to 26. details of the actions of the female Samkhat and Hea-bani.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n27. And Hea-bani approached Kharimtu then, who before had not enticed\nhim.\n\n28. And he listened .... and was attentive,\n\n29. and he turned and sat at the feet of Kharimtu.\n\n30. Kharimtu bent down her face,\n\n31. and Kharimtu spake; and his ears heard\n\n32. and to him also she said to Hea-bani:\n\n33. Famous Hea-bani like a god art thou,\n\n34. Why dost thou associate with the creeping things in the desert?\n\n35. I desire thy company to the midst of Erech the lofty,\n\n36. to the temple of Elli-tardusi the seat of Anu and Istar,\n\n37. the dwelling of Izdubar the mighty giant,\n\n38. who also like a bull towers over the chiefs.\n\n39. She spake to him and before her speech,\n\n40. the wisdom of his heart flew away and disappeared.\n\n41. Hea-bani to her also said to Kharimtu:\n\n42. I join to Samkhat my companionship,\n\n43. to the temple of Elli-tardusi the seat of Anu and Istar,\n\n44. the dwelling of Izdubar the mighty giant,\n\n45. who also like a bull towers over the chiefs.\n\n46. I will meet him and see his power,\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. I will bring to the midst of Erech a tiger,\n\n2. and if he is able he will destroy it.\n\n3. In the desert it is begotten, it has great strength,\n\n4. ...... before thee\n\n5. .... everything there is I know\n\n6. Hea-bani went to the midst of Erech the lofty\n\n7. .... the chiefs ... made submission\n\n8. in that day they made a festival\n\n9. ..... city\n\n10. ..... daughter\n\n11. ..... made rejoicing\n\n12. ..... becoming great\n\n13. ..... mingled and\n\n14. ..... Izdubar rejoicing the people\n\n15. went before him\n\n16. A prince thou becomest glory thou hast\n\n17. .... fills his body\n\n18. .... who day and night\n\n19. .... destroy thy terror\n\n20. .... the god Samas loves him and\n\n21. .... and Hea have given intelligence to his ears\n\n22. he has come from the mountain\n\n23. to the midst of Erech he will ponder thy dream\n\n24. Izdubar his dream revealed and said to his mother\n\n25. A dream I dreamed in my sleep\n\n26. .... the stars of heaven\n\n27. .... struck upon my back\n\n28. .... of heaven over me\n\n29. .... did not rise over it\n\n30. .... stood over .....\n\n31. ...... him and\n\n32. ..... over him\n\n33. .... his ....\n\n34. ....... princess\n\n35. ....... me\n\n36. ..... I know\n\n37. ..... to Izdubar\n\n38. ..... of heaven\n\n39. ..... over thy back\n\n40. ..... over thee\n\n41. ..... did not rise over it\n\n42. ..... my .....\n\n43. ..... thee\n\nThere is one other mutilated fragment of this and the next column with\npart of a relation respecting beasts and a fragment of a conversation\nbetween Izdubar and his mother.\n\nThe whole of this tablet is curious, and it certainly gives the\nsuccessful issue of the attempt to bring Hea-bani to Erech, and in very\nfragmentary condition the dream of the monarch.\n\nIt appears that the females Samkhat and Kharimtu prevailed upon\nHea-bani to come to Erech and see the exploits of the giant Izdubar,\nand he declared that he would bring a _Midannu_, most probably a tiger,\nto Erech, in order to make trial of the strength of Izdubar, and to see\nif he could destroy it.\n\nThe Midannu is mentioned in the Assyrian texts as a fierce carnivorous\nanimal allied to the lion and leopard; it is called _Midannu_, Mindinu,\nand Mandinu. In a list of animals it is associated with the _dumamu_ or\ncat.\n\nIn the fifth column, after the description of the festivities which\nfollowed the arrival of Hea-bani, there appears a break between lines\n15 and 16, some part of the original story being probably omitted here.\nThe Assyrian copy probably is here defective, at least one line being\nlost. The portion here omitted seems to have stated that the following\nspeech was made by the mother of Izdubar, who figures prominently in\nthe earlier part of these legends.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nDESTRUCTION OF THE TYRANT KHUMBABA.\n\n Mythical geography.\u2014Forest region.\u2014Khumbaba.\u2014Conversation.\u2014Petition\n to Samas.\u2014Journey to forest.\u2014Dwelling of Khumbaba.\u2014Entrance to\n forest.\u2014Meeting with Khumbaba.\u2014Death of Khumbaba.\u2014Izdubar king.\n\n\nThe wretchedly mutilated condition of the fragments that belong to the\ntwo next tablets or books of the Epic makes it impossible to ascertain\ntheir correct order and arrangement. The arrangement given here,\naccordingly, must be regarded as merely provisional. It may, however,\nbe taken as certain that they all form part of the fourth and fifth\ntablets, and relate the contest between Izdubar and Khumbaba.\n\nKhumbaba, the Kombabos of the Greeks, was the prototype of Geryon.\nHe dwelt far away in the forest of pines and sherbin cedars, where\nthe gods and spirits had their abode. It was, consequently, in the\ncold region of the Accadian Olympus, now Mount Elwend, that he was\nplaced by the old mythology, and the similarity of his name to that\nof the Elamite god Khumba or Khumbume makes it possible that he was\noriginally identical with the latter. In this case the antagonism\nbetween Khumbaba and Izdubar would have been merely a reflection of\nthe antagonism that existed between the inhabitants of Babylonia and\nthe subjects of the Elamite empire. Mr. Smith even thought that the\noverthrow of Khumbaba might have been an echo of the overthrow of some\nElamite dynasty by a Chaldean one.\n\nIn the case of the fourth tablet Mr. Smith believed that he had found\nfragments of all six columns, but some of these fragments are useless\nuntil we have further fragments to complete them.\n\n\nTABLET IV.\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. .... mu ....\n\n2. .... thy ....\n\n3. .... me, return\n\n4. .... the birds shall rend him\n\n5. .... in thy presence\n\n6. .... of the forest of pine trees\n\n7. .... all the battle\n\n8. .... may the birds of prey surround him\n\n9. .... that, his carcass may they destroy\n\n10. .... to me and we will appoint thee king,\n\n11. .... thou shalt direct after the manner of a king\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n12. [Izdubar] opened his mouth and spake,\n\n13. and said to Hea-bani:\n\n14. ... he goes to the great palace\n\n15. .... the breast of the great queen\n\n16. ..... knowledge, everything he knows\n\n17. ...... establish to our feet\n\n18. ....... his hand\n\n19. ....... I to the great palace\n\n20. ......... the great queen\n\n(Probably over twenty lines lost here.)\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. .... enter\n\n2. .... he raised\n\n3. .... the ornaments of her ....\n\n4. .... the ornaments of her breast\n\n5. .... and her crown I divided\n\n6. .... of the earth he opened\n\n7. he .... he ascended to the city\n\n8. he went up to the presence of Samas he made a sacrifice?\n\n9. he built an altar. In the presence of Samas he lifted his hands:\n\n10. Why hast thou established Izdubar, in thy heart thou hast given him\nprotection,\n\n11. when the son .... and he goes\n\n12. on the remote path to Khumbaba.\n\n13. A battle he knows not he will confront,\n\n14. an expedition he knows not he will ride to,\n\n15. for long he will go and will return,\n\n16. to take the course to the forest of pine trees,\n\n17. to Khumbaba of [whom his city may] he destroy,\n\n18. and every one who is evil whom thou hatest ...\n\n19. In the day of the year he will ....\n\n20. May she not return at all, may she not ...\n\n21. him to fix ....\n\n(About ten lines lost here.)\n\nHere we see that Izdubar, impressed with the magnitude of the task he\nhad undertaken, makes a prayer and sacrifice to Samas to aid him in his\ntask. The next fragment appears also to belong to this column, and may\nrefer to preliminaries for sacrificing to Istar, with a view also to\ngain her aid in the enterprise.\n\nThis fragment of Column II. reads\n\n1. .... neighbourhood of Erech ....\n\n2. .... strong and ...\n\n3. he burst open the road ....\n\n4. and that city ....\n\n5. and the collection ....\n\n6. placed the people together ....\n\n7. the people were ended ....\n\n8. like of a king ....\n\n9. which for a long time had been made ....\n\n10. to the goddess Istar the bed ....\n\n11. to Izdubar like the god Sakim ....\n\n12. Hea-bani opened the great gate of the house of assembly ....\n\n13. for Izdubar to enter ....\n\n14. .... in the gate of the house ............\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. the corpse of ....\n\n2. to ....\n\n3. to the rising of ....\n\n4. the angels ....\n\n5. may she not return ....\n\n6. him to fix ....\n\n7. the expedition which he knows not ....\n\n8. may he destroy also ....\n\n9. of which he knows ....\n\n10. the road ....\n\nFive more mutilated lines, the rest of the column being lost.\n\nThis fragment shows Izdubar still invoking the gods for his coming\nexpedition. Under the next column Mr. Smith placed a fragment, the\nposition and meaning of which are quite unknown.\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\u2014UNCERTAIN FRAGMENT.\n\n1. he was heavy ....\n\n2. Hea-bani was ....\n\n3. Hea-bani strong not rising ....\n\n4. When ....\n\n5. with thy song? ....\n\n6. the sister of the gods faithful ....\n\n7. wandering he fixed to ....\n\n8. the sister of the gods lifted ....\n\n9. and the daughters of the gods grew ....\n\n10. I Hea-bani .... he lifted to ....\n\nSomewhere here should be the story, now lost, of the starting of\nIzdubar on his expedition accompanied by his friend Hea-bani. The\nsequel shows they arrive at the palace or residence of Hea-bani, which\nis surrounded by a forest of pine and cedar, the whole being enclosed\nby some barrier or wall, with a gate for entrance. Hea-bani and Izdubar\nopen this gate where the story reopens on the fifth column.\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. the sharp weapon\n\n2. to make men fear him ....\n\n3. Khumbaba poured a tempest out of his mouth ....\n\n4. he heard the gate of the forest [open]\n\n5. the sharp weapon to make men fear him [he took]\n\n6. and in the path of his forest he stood and [waited]\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. Izdubar to him also [said to Hea-bani]\n\nHere we see Khumbaba waiting for the intruders, but the rest of the\ncolumn is lost; it appears to have principally consisted of speeches by\nIzdubar and Hea-bani on the magnificent trees they saw, and the work\nbefore them. A single fragment of Column VI., containing fragments of\nsix lines, shows them still at the gate, and when the next tablet, No.\nV., opens, they had not yet entered.\n\n\nTABLET V.\n\nThe fifth tablet is more certain than the last; it appears to refer\nto the conquest of Khumbaba. Only fragments of this tablet, which\nopens with a description of the retreat of Khumbaba, have as yet been\ndiscovered.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. He stood and surveyed the forest\n\n2. of pine trees, he perceived its height,\n\n3. of the forest he perceived its approach,\n\n4. in the place where Khumbaba went his step was placed,\n\n5. on a straight road and a good path.\n\n6. He saw the land of the pine trees, the seat of the gods, the\nsanctuary of the angels,\n\n7. in front? of the seed the pine tree carried its fruit,\n\n8. good was its shadow, full of pleasure,\n\n9. an excellent tree, the choice of the forest,\n\n10. .... the pine heaped ....\n\n11. .... for one kaspu (7 miles) ...\n\n12. .... cedar two-thirds of it ...\n\n13. .... grown ....\n\n14. .... like it ...\n\n(About 10 lines lost here.)\n\n25. .... he looked ....\n\n26. .... he made and he ....\n\n27. .... drove to ....\n\n28. .... he opened and ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n29. Izdubar opened his mouth and spake, [and said to Hea-bani]:\n\n30. My friend ....\n\n31. .... with their slaughter ....\n\n32. .... he did not speak before her, he made with him ....\n\n33. .... knowledge of war who made fighting,\n\n34. in entering to the house thou shalt not fear ...\n\n35. .... and like I take her also they ....\n\n36. to an end may they seat ....\n\n37. .... thy hand ....\n\n38. .... took my friend first ....\n\n39. .... his heart prepared for war, that year and day also\n\n40. .... on his falling appoint the people\n\n41. .... slay him, his corpse may the birds of prey surround\n\n42. ...... of them he shall make\n\n43. .... going he took the weight\n\n44. they performed it, their will they established\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n45. .... they entered into the forest\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n(Five lines mutilated.)\n\n6. they passed through the forest ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. Khumbaba ....\n\n8. he did not come ....\n\n9. he did not ....\n\n(Seven lines lost.)\n\n17. heavy ....\n\n18. Hea-bani opened his mouth ....\n\n19. .... Khumbaba in ....\n\n20. .... one by one and ....\n\n(Many other broken lines.)\n\nThere are a few fragments of Columns III., IV., and V., and a small\nportion of Column VI., which reads:\n\n1. .... cedar to ....\n\n2. .... he placed and ....\n\n3. .... 120 .... Hea-bani ....\n\n4. .... the head of Khumbaba ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n5. .... his weapon he sharpened ....\n\n6. .... tablet of the story of fate of ....\n\nIt appears from the various mutilated fragments of this tablet that\nIzdubar and Hea-bani conquer and slay Khumbaba and take his goods, but\nmuch is wanted to connect the fragments.\n\nThe conclusion of this stage of the story and triumph of Izdubar\nare given at the commencement of the sixth tablet. The conquest of\nKhumbaba gave Izdubar the crown and attributes of his fallen rival,\nwho seems to have been a sun-god, and this caused Istar, who already\nappears as the bride of the sun in the myth of Tammuz, to woo the\ntriumphant hero.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF ISTAR.\n\n Triumph of Izdubar.\u2014Istar\u2019s love.\u2014Her offer of marriage.\u2014Her\n promises.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s answer.\u2014Tammuz.\u2014Amours of Istar.\u2014His\n refusal.\u2014Istar\u2019s anger.\u2014Ascends to Heaven.\u2014The bull.\u2014Slain by\n Izdubar.\u2014Istar\u2019s curse.\u2014Izdubar\u2019s triumph.\u2014The feast.\u2014Istar\u2019s\n despair.\u2014Her descent to Hades.\u2014Description.\u2014The seven gates.\u2014The\n curses.\u2014Atsu-sunamir the Sphinx.\u2014Release of Istar.\u2014The dog of the\n dawn.\u2014Lament for Tammuz.\n\n\nIn this chapter are included the sixth and seventh tablets, which both\nprimarily refer to the doings of Istar.\n\n\nTABLET VI.\n\nThe sixth tablet is in better condition than any of the former ones,\nand allows of something like a connected translation.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. .... his weapon, he made bright his weapon.\n\n2. Like a bull his mountain he ascended after him.\n\n3. He destroyed him and clothed himself with his spoils.\n\n4. The ... he put on and the fastening of the crown he tore.\n\n5. Izdubar his crown put on (and the fastening of the crown he tore).\n\n6. For the favour of Izdubar the princess Istar lifted the eyes:\n\n7. I will make thee also Izdubar my husband,[18]\n\n8. thy oath to me shall be thy bond,\n\n9. thou shalt be husband and I will be thy wife.\n\n10. I will make (thy) chariot glisten with crystal and gold,\n\n11. of which the body is gold and its horns are strong.\n\n12. I will cause thy days to find gifts, O judge (?) of the great.\n\n13. Into our house enter, mid the scent of the pines.\n\n14. When thou enterest our house\n\n15. may the river Euphrates kiss thy feet.\n\n16. There shall be under thee kings, lords, and princes.\n\n17. The tribute of the mountains and plains may they bring to thee as\nan offering.\n\n18. May thy herds and flocks bring forth twins,\n\n19. may the increase of the cows come unto (thee),\n\n20. may thy (horse) be strong, without ceasing, in the chariot,\n\n21. may (thy steed) in the yoke never have a rival.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n22. (Izdubar) opened his mouth and speaks;\n\n23. (he says) to the princess Istar:\n\n24. .... to thee thy possession\n\n25. .... body and rottenness (?)\n\n26. .... baldness and famine\n\n27. .... I keep back the instruments of divinity\n\n28. .... instruments of royalty\n\n29. .... storm (?)\n\n30. ...... he poured (?)\n\n31. ...... I lingered\n\n32. ...... I took thee\n\n33. ...... caused to enter\n\n34. the door afterwards .... ended wind and showers\n\n35. palace .... the hero\n\n36. mouth .... check her\n\n37. that sign .... carry her\n\n38. body glorious (?) .... carry her\n\n39. grand .... tower of stone\n\n40. they have dwelt (in) the land of the enemy\n\n41. may she .... her lord\n\n42. never may he woo thee for ever\n\n43. never may a god praise thee\n\n44. I took also the torch? .... I loved thee\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. Rest thee and .....\n\n2. as for Tammuz the lover of (thy) youth\n\n3. year after year thou hast wearied him with thy love.\n\n4. Allala the eagle also thou lovest and\n\n5. thou didst strike him, and his wings thou didst break;\n\n6. he stood in the forest, he begged for wings.\n\n7. Thou lovest also a lion lusty in might,\n\n8. thou didst tear out by sevens his claws.\n\n9. Thou lovest also a horse glorious in war,\n\n10. he yielded himself and thou didst weary his love overmuch.\n\n11. For seven kaspu (fourteen hours) thou didst weary his love without\nceasing,\n\n12. troubled and thirsting thou didst weary him.\n\n13. To his mother Silele thou didst send him wearied with thy love.\n\n14. Thou lovest also the shepherd Tabulu,\n\n15. of whom continually thou didst ask for thy stibium.\n\n16. Every day he propitiated thee with offerings,\n\n17. thou didst strike him and to a hyena thou didst change him;\n\n18. his own village drove him away;\n\n19. his dogs tore his wounds.\n\n20. Thou lovest also Isullanu the husbandman of thy father,\n\n21. who continually was subject to thy order;\n\n22. each day had he made bright thy dish.\n\n23. The eyes thou didst take from him and didst put him in chains,\n\n24. (saying): O Isullanu, cut thy hand, eat (thy) eyes!\n\n25. And thy hand thou didst bring out and thou didst strike? ....\n\n26. Isullanu says to thee:\n\n27. As for me what dost thou ask of me?\n\n28. My mother, thou art not beautiful, and I eat not.\n\n29. The food I have eaten is plentiful, even pain and waking;\n\n30. trembling and faintness overcome me (?)\n\n31. Thou didst hear also this ....\n\n32. thou didst strike him; to a pillar[19] thou didst change him,\n\n33. thou didst place him also in the midst of the land ....\n\n34. that he rise not up, that he go not ....\n\n35. And as for me dost thou love me, and like to him wilt thou [serve\nme]?\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n36. When Istar (heard) this,\n\n37. Istar was angry and to heaven she ascended;\n\n38. Istar went also to the presence of Anu her father,\n\n39. to the presence of Anatu her mother she went and says:\n\n40. My father, Izdubar hates me, and\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. Izdubar despises my beauty,\n\n2. my beauty and my charms.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. Anu opened his mouth and spake, and\n\n4. says to the princess Istar:\n\n5. My daughter thou shalt remove ....\n\n6. and Izdubar will count thy beauty,\n\n7. thy beauty and thy charms.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n8. Istar opened her mouth and spake, and\n\n9. says to Anu her father:\n\n10. My father, create the bull of Anu[20] and\n\n11. Izdubar ....\n\n12. when he is filled ....\n\n13. I will strike ....\n\n14. I will join ....\n\n15. ........\n\n16. over ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n17. Anu opened his mouth and spake, and\n\n18. says to the princess Istar:\n\n19. .... thou shalt join ....\n\n20. .... of noble names\n\n21. .... _maskhi_ ....\n\n22. .... which is magnified ....\n   \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n23. Istar opened her mouth and spake, and\n\n24. says to Anu her father:\n\n25. .... I will strike\n\n26. .... I will break\n\n27. .... of noble names\n\n28. .... reducer\n\n29. .... of foods\n\n30. .... of him\n\n(Some lines lost here.)\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n(Some lines lost.)\n\n1. .... warriors\n\n2. .... to the midst\n\n3. .... three hundred warriors\n\n4. .... to the midst\n\n5. .... slay Hea-bani\n\n6. in two divisions he parted in the midst of it\n\n7. two hundred warriors .... made, the bull of Anu ....\n\n8. in the third division .... his horns\n\n9. Hea-bani struck? .... his might\n\n10. and Hea-bani pierced ........\n\n11. the bull of Anu by his head he took hold of ....\n\n12. by the thickness of his tail ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. Hea-bani opened his mouth and spake, and\n\n14. says to Izdubar:\n\n15. My friend, we have strengthened ....\n\n16. when we overthrow ...\n\n17. My friend, I see ....\n\n18. and the might ....\n\n19. may I destroy ....\n\n(Three lines lost.).\n\n23. .... hands .... to Rimmon and Nebo\n\n24. .... _tarka_ .... _um_ ....\n\n25. .... Hea-bani took hold .... the bull of Anu\n\n26. .... he .... also .... by his tail\n\n27. ........ Hea-bani\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. And Izdubar like a ....\n\n2. the hero and (his friend)\n\n3. in the vicinity of the middle of his horns ....\n\n4. from the city they destroyed, the heart ....\n\n5. to the presence of Samas ....\n\n6. they had gone to the presence of Samas ....\n\n7. he placed at the side the bulk (?) ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n8. And Istar ascended over the fortress of Erech the lofty,\n\n9. she destroyed the bull, she uttered a curse:\n\n10. Woe to Izdubar who has overthrown me, has slain the bull of Anu.\n\n11. Hea-bani also heard this speech of Istar,\n\n12. and he cut off the member of the bull of Anu and before her he laid\nit;\n\n13. And what of it? since I conquered thee when him also (_i.e._\nIzdubar)\n\n14. I caused thee to listen to;\n\n15. its skin also I have hung up at thy side.\n\n16. Istar gathered her maidens\n\n17. Samkhati and Kharimati,[21]\n\n18. over the member of the bull of Anu a mourning she made.\n\n19. Izdubar called on the people, the multitude\n\n20. all of them:\n\n21. with the thickness of his horns the young men were glorious,\n\n22. 30 manehs of crystal (was) their substance,\n\n23. the sharpness of the points was destroyed,\n\n24. 6 gurs its mass altogether.\n\n25. For the food of his god Lugal-turda he cut it up;\n\n26. he seethed it and hangs it up in the rising of his fire;\n\n27. in the river Euphrates they washed their hands.\n\n28. They had been taken and gone\n\n29. through the street of Erech riding,\n\n30. the assembly of the warriors of Erech put trust in them.\n\n31. Izdubar to the inhabitants of Erech\n\n32. .... a proclamation made.\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n1. \u201cIf anyone is of ability among the chiefs,\n\n2. if any is noble among the men,\n\n3. Izdubar is able among the chiefs,\n\n4. Izdubar is noble among the men,\n\n5. .... our strength\n\n6. .... he has not\n\n7. .... his ....\u201d\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n8. Izdubar in his palace made a rejoicing,\n\n9. the chiefs reclining lie on couches at night.\n\n10. Hea-bani lies down, a dream he dreams.\n\n11. Hea-bani came and the dream he explains,\n\n12. and says to Izdubar.\n\n\nTABLET VII.\n\nThe seventh tablet opens with the words, \u201cMy friend, what is this\ncounsel the great gods are taking?\u201d It is uncertain if any other\nportion of this tablet has been found, but part of a remarkable\nfragment, with a continuation of the story of Istar, has been placed\nhere. It appears that the goddess, failing in her attempt in heaven to\navenge herself on Izdubar for his slight, resolved to descend to hell,\nto search out, if possible, new modes of attacking him.\n\nColumns I. and II. are lost, the fragments recommencing on Column III.\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. .... people? to destroy his hand approached\n\n2. .... raise in thy presence\n\n3. .... like before\n\n4. .... Zaidu (shall accomplish) the wish of his heart\n\n5. with the female Samkhat .... he brought\n\n6. .... thee, the female Samkhat will expel thee\n\n7. (homage) they did not perform ......\n\n8. assemble thou a great assembly;\n\n9. .... the strong one has caused thee to be struck, even thee.\n\n10. ... goods of the house of thy fulness\n\nAfter many lines destroyed, the story recommences in the fourth column.\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. [To Hades the country whence none return] I turn myself,\n\n2. I spread like a bird my hands.\n\n3. I descend, I descend to the house of darkness, the dwelling of the\ngod Irkalla:\n\n4. to the house out of which there is no exit,\n\n5. to the road from which there is no return:\n\n6. to the house from whose entrance the light is taken,\n\n7. the place where dust is their nourishment and their food mud.\n\n8. Its chiefs also are like birds covered with feathers;\n\n9. the light is never seen, in darkness they dwell.\n\n10. In the house, O my friend, which I will enter,\n\n11. for me is treasured up a crown;\n\n12. with those wearing crowns who from days of old ruled the earth,\n\n13. to whom the gods Anu and Bel have given names of rule.\n\n14. Water (?) they have given to quench the thirst they drink limpid\nwaters.\n\n15. In the house, O my friend, which I will enter,\n\n16. dwell the lord and the unconquered one,\n\n17. dwell the priest and the great man,\n\n18. dwell the worms of the deep of the great gods;\n\n19. there dwells Etana, there dwells the god Ner,\n\n20. (there dwells) the queen of the lower regions, Allat,\n\n21. the mistress of the fields the mother of the queen of the lower\nregions before her submits,\n\n22. and there is not any one that stands against her in her presence.\n\n23. I will approach her and she will see me\n\n24. ... and she will bring me to her\n\nHere the story is again lost, Columns V. and VI. being absent. It\nwould seem that Hea-bani is here telling his friend how he must die\nand descend into the house of Hades. Mr. Smith, however, thought that\nin the third column some one is speaking to Istar, trying to persuade\nher not to descend to Hades, while in the fourth column the goddess,\nwho is suffering all the pangs of jealousy and hate, revels in the\ndark details of the description of the lower regions, and declares her\ndetermination to go there.\n\nIf this view is correct, this part of the legend would be connected\nwith the beautiful story of the Descent of Istar into Hades which\ndescribes how the goddess descended into the lower world in search of\nher husband Tammuz, the Sun-god, who had been slain by the boar\u2019s tusk\nof winter. Tammuz became Adonis, the Ph\u0153nician _adonai_ \u201clord,\u201d among\nthe Greeks, to whom the story of Aphrodit\u00ea and Adonis had been carried\nby the Ph\u0153nicians. The story is one which meets us in the mythologies\nof many races and nations throughout the world, and has grown in each\ncase out of the winter-sleep of the sun and his resurrection in the\nspring. Its last echo in our own European folklore may be heard in the\ntale of the Sleeping Beauty. A calendar found among the banking records\nof the Egibi firm in Babylonia notes on the 15th day of the month\nTammuz or June \u201can eclipse of the Moon,\u201d apparently in reference to the\ndescent of the Moon-goddess Istar into Hades. The legend survives in\na changed form in the Talmud (_Yoma_ 69_b_, _Sanhedrim_ 60_a_). Here\nit is said that after the Captivity the elders of the nation, headed\nby Ezra and Nehemiah, besought God that the demon of lust might be\ndelivered into their hands. In spite of a prophetic voice which warned\nthem of the consequences of their request, it was persisted in, and the\ndemon was given up to them and imprisoned. But before three days were\nover, the whole course of the world was thrown into disorder. No eggs\neven were to be had, and the Jewish elders were obliged to confess\ntheir mistake and release the demon from his fetters.\n\nThe descent of Istar into Hades from K 162.\n\n1. To Hades the land whence none return, the land (of darkness),\n\n2. Istar daughter of Sin (the moon) her ear (inclined);\n\n3. inclined also the daughter of Sin her ear,\n\n4. to the house of darkness the dwelling of the god Irkalla,\n\n5. to the house out of which there is no exit,\n\n6. to the road from which there is no return,\n\n7. to the house from whose entrance the light is taken,\n\n8. the place where dust is their nourishment and their food mud.\n\n9. Light is never seen, in darkness they dwell.\n\n10. Its chiefs also are like birds covered with feathers,\n\n11. over the door and bolts is scattered dust.\n\n12. Istar on her arrival at the gate of Hades,\n\n13. to the keeper of the gate a command she addresses:\n\n14. Keeper of the waters, open thy gate,\n\n15. open thy gate that I may enter.\n\n16. If thou openest not the gate that I may enter,\n\n17. I will strike the door, the bolts I will shatter,\n\n18. I will strike the threshold and will pass through the doors;\n\n19. I will raise up the dead to devour the living,\n\n20. above the living the dead shall exceed in numbers.\n\n21. The keeper opened his mouth and speaks,\n\n22. he says to the princess Istar:\n\n23. Stay, lady, thou dost not glorify her,\n\n24. let me go and thy name repeat to the queen Allat.\n\n25. The keeper descended and says to Allat:\n\n26. This water (of life) thy sister Istar (comes to seek).\n\n27. The queen of the great vaults (of heaven) ....\n\n28. Allat on hearing this says:\n\n29. Like the cutting off of the herb has (Istar) descended (into Hades),\n\n30. like the lip of a deadly insect (?) she has ...\n\n31. What will her heart bring me (_i.e._ matter to me), what will her\nanger (bring me)?\n\n32: (Istar replies:) This water with (my husband)\n\n33. like food would I eat, like beer would I drink.\n\n34. Let me weep over the strong who have left their wives.\n\n35. Let me weep over the handmaids who (have lost) the embraces of\ntheir husbands.\n\n36. Over the only son let me mourn, who ere his days are come is taken\naway.\n\n37. (Allat says:) Go keeper open thy gate to her,\n\n38. bewitch her also according to the ancient rules.\n\n39. The keeper went and opened his gate:\n\n40. Enter, O lady, let the city of Cutha[22] receive thee;\n\n41. let the palace of Hades rejoice at thy presence.\n\n42. The first gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\ndown the great crown of her head.\n\n43. Why, O keeper, hast thou thrown down the great crown of my head?\n\n44. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n45. The second gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the earrings of her ears.\n\n46. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the earrings of my ears?\n\n47. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n48. The third gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the necklace[23] of her neck.\n\n49. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the necklace of my neck?\n\n50. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n51. The fourth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the ornaments of her breast.\n\n52. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the ornaments of my breast?\n\n53. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n54. The fifth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the gemmed girdle of her waist.\n\n55. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the gemmed girdle of my waist?\n\n56. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n57. The sixth gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the bracelets of her hands and her feet.\n\n58. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the bracelets of my hands and my\nfeet?\n\n59. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n60. The seventh gate he caused her to enter and touched her, he threw\naway the covering robe of her body.\n\n61. Why, keeper, hast thou thrown away the covering robe of my body?\n\n62. Enter, O lady, of Allat thus is the order.\n\n63. When for a long time Istar into Hades had descended,\n\n64. Allat saw her and at her presence was arrogant;\n\n65. Istar did not take counsel, at her she swore.\n\n66. Allat her mouth opened and speaks,\n\n67. to Namtar (the plague-demon) her messenger a command she addresses:\n\n68. Go Namtar [take Istar from] me and\n\n69. take her out to .... even Istar\n\n70. diseased eyes (strike) her with,\n\n71. diseased side (strike) her with,\n\n72. diseased feet (strike) her with,\n\n73. diseased heart (strike) her with,\n\n74. diseased head (strike) her with,\n\n75. strike her, the whole of her [strike with disease].\n\n76. After Istar the lady [into Hades had descended],\n\n77. with the cow the bull would not unite, and the ass the female ass\nwould not approach;\n\n78. the female slave in the streets would not let herself be touched.\n\n79. The freeman ceased to give his command,\n\n80. the female slave ceased to give her gift.\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. Papsukul, the messenger of the great gods bowed his face before\n(Samas);\n\n2. ..............\n\n3. Samas (the sun-god) went and in the presence of his father the\nmoon-god he stood,\n\n4. into the presence of Hea the king he went in tears:\n\n5. Istar into the lower regions has descended, she has not ascended\nback;\n\n6. for a long time Istar into Hades has descended,\n\n7. with the cow the bull will not unite, the ass the female ass will\nnot approach;\n\n8. the female slave in the street will not let herself be touched;\n\n9. the freeman has ceased to give his command,\n\n10. the female slave has ceased to give her gift.\n\n11. Hea in the wisdom of his heart formed a resolution,\n\n12. and made Atsu-sunamir[24] the sphinx:[25]\n\n13. Go Atsu-sunamir towards the gates of Hades set thy face;\n\n14. may the seven gates of Hades be opened at thy presence;\n\n15. may Allat see thee and rejoice at thy presence;\n\n16. when she shall be at rest in her heart, and her liver be appeased.\n\n17. Conjure her by the name of the great gods.\n\n18. Raise thy heads, to the roaring stream set thy ear;\n\n19. may the lady (Istar) overmaster the roaring stream, the waters in\nthe midst of it may she drink.\n\n20. Allat on hearing this,\n\n21. beat her breast, she bit her thumb,\n\n22. she turned again, a request she asked not:\n\n23. Go, Atsu-sunamir, may I imprison thee in the great prison,\n\n24. may the garbage of the foundations of the city be thy food,\n\n25. may the drains of the city be thy drink,\n\n26. may the darkness of the dungeon be thy dwelling,\n\n27. may a stake be thy seat,\n\n28. may hunger and thirst strike thy offspring.\n\n29. Allat her mouth opened and speaks,\n\n30. to Namtar her messenger a command she addresses:\n\n31. Go, Namtar, strike the firmly-fixed palace,\n\n32. the _ash\u00earim_[26] adorn with stones of the dawn,\n\n33. bid the spirits of earth come forth, on a throne of gold seat\n(them),\n\n34. unto Istar give the waters of life and bring her before me.\n\n35. Namtar went, he struck the firmly-fixed palace,\n\n36. the _ash\u00earim_ he adorned with stones of the dawn,\n\n37. he brought forth the spirits of earth, on a throne of gold he\nseated (them).\n\n38. To Istar he gave the waters of life and took her.\n\n39. The first gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\ncovering robe of her body.\n\n40. The second gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\nbracelets of her hands and her feet.\n\n41. The third gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\ngemmed girdle of her waist.\n\n42. The fourth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\nornaments of her breast.\n\n43. The fifth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\nnecklace of her neck.\n\n44. The sixth gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\nearrings of her ears.\n\n45. The seventh gate he passed her out of, and he restored to her the\ngreat crown of her head.\n\n46. Since thou hast not paid, (he says) a ransom for thy deliverance to\nher (_i.e._ Allat), so to her again turn back\n\n47. for Tammuz the husband of (thy) youth;\n\n48. the glistening waters pour over (him), the drops (sprinkle upon\nhim);\n\n49. in splendid clothing dress him, with a ring of crystal adorn (him).\n\n50. May Samkhat appease the grief (of Istar),\n\n51. and, Kharimat,[27] give to her comfort.\n\n52. The precious eye-stones also she destroyed not,\n\n53. the wound of her brother (Tammuz) she heard, she smote (her\nbreast), she, even Kharimat, gave her comfort;\n\n54. the precious eye-stones, her amulets, she commanded not,\n\n55. (saying): O my only brother, thou dost not lament for me.\n\n56. In the day that Tammuz adorned me, with a ring of crystal, with a\nbracelet of emeralds, together with himself he adorned me,\n\n57. with himself he adorned me; may men mourners and women mourners\n\n58. on a bier place (him), and assemble the wake.\n\nThis remarkable text shows Istar fulfilling her threat and descending\nto Hades, but it does not appear that she had as yet accomplished her\nvengeance against Izdubar.\n\nAt the opening of the sixth tablet we have the final scene of the\ncontest with Khumbaba. Izdubar, after slaying Khumbaba, takes the\ncrown from the head of the monarch and places it on his own head, thus\nsignifying that he assumed the empire. There were, as we are informed\nin several places, kings, lords, and princes, merely local rulers, but\nthese generally submitted to the greatest power; and just as they had\nbowed to Khumbaba, so they were ready now to submit to Izdubar. The\nkingdom promised to Izdubar when he started to encounter Khumbaba now\nbecame his by right of superior force, and he entered the halls of the\npalace of Erech and feasted with his heroes.\n\nWe are thus brought to a curious part of the story, the romance\nof Izdubar and Istar. One of the strange and dark features of the\nBabylonian religion was the Istar or Venus worship, which was an\nadoration of the reproductive power of nature, accompanied by\nceremonies which were a reproach to the country. The city of Erech,\noriginally a seat of the worship of Anu, was now one of the foremost\ncities in this Istar worship. Tammuz, the young and beautiful Sun-god,\nthe dead bridegroom of Istar, seems to be also spoken of as the brother\nof her handmaid Kharimat. This explains, as M. Lenormant has pointed\nout, the passage in Jeremiah xxii. 18, which preserves a portion of\nthe wailing cry uttered by the worshippers of Tammuz or Adonis when\ncelebrating his untimely death. This should be rendered: \u201cAh me, my\nbrother, and ah me, my sister! Ah me, Adonis, and ah me, his lady!\u201d\nReference is made to the worship of Tammuz, which was carried on\nwithin the Temple itself at Jerusalem, in Ezek. viii. 14, Amos viii.\n10, (where we should translate \u201cas at the mourning for the only son\u201d\nTammuz), and Zech. xii. 10, 11. Tammuz is the Semitic form of the\nAccadian Dumuzi which signified in that language \u201cthe only son.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: BOWAREYEH MOUND AT WARKA (ERECH), SITE OF THE TEMPLE OF\nISTAR.]\n\nThe struggle with a bull on the part of Izdubar and Hea-bani,\nrepresented on the Babylonian cylinder figured on the next page, and\nnumerous similar representations, refer to the struggle with the bull\ncreated by Anu to avenge the slight offered to Istar.\n\nIt would appear from the broken fragments of Column IV. that Hea-bani\nlaid hold of the bull by the head and tail while Izdubar killed it, and\nHea-bani in the engraving is represented holding the bull by its head\nand tail.\n\nAt the close of the sixth tablet the story is again lost, only portions\nof the third and fourth columns of the next tablet being preserved,\nbut light is thrown on this portion of the narrative by the remarkable\ntablet describing the descent of Istar into Hades. It is possible\nthat this tablet formed an episode in the sixth tablet of the Izdubar\nlegends.\n\n[Illustration: IZDUBAR AND HEA-BANI IN CONFLICT WITH THE LION AND BULL.]\n\nThis tablet containing the descent of Istar into Hades was first\nnoticed by Mr. Fox Talbot in the \u201cTransactions of the Royal Society\nof Literature,\u201d but his attempt at a translation was a failure. Mr.\nSmith subsequently published a short notice of it in the \u201cNorth British\nReview,\u201d and afterwards a translation of it in the \u201cDaily Telegraph.\u201d\nProf. Schrader brought out a monograph upon it in 1874, and both M.\nLenormant and Dr. Oppert have worked at it. The most recent translation\nis one made into Italian by M. Lenormant in a publication entitled\n\u201cIl mito di Adone-Tammuz,\u201d 1879, upon the basis of the one made by Dr.\nOppert.\n\nThe story of the descent of Istar into Hades is one of the most\nbeautiful myths in the Assyrian inscriptions; it has, however, received\nso much attention, and been so fully commented upon by various\nscholars, that little need be said on the subject here.\n\nIt is evident that we are dealing with the same goddess as the Istar,\ndaughter of Anu, in the Izdubar legends, although she is here called\ndaughter of Sin (the moon-god).\n\nThe description of the region of Hades is most graphic, and vividly\nportrays the sufferings of the prisoners there. Atsu-sunamir, created\nby Hea to deliver Istar, is described as a composite animal, half bitch\nand half man, with more than one head, and corresponds with the two\ndogs of the Hindu Rig-Veda, which have four eyes and broad snouts, and\nguard the road to the abode of Yama the king of the departed. They are\nalso said to move among men, feasting on their lives, as the messengers\nof Yama; and as the offspring of Saram\u00e2, the dawn, they are called\nS\u00e2rameyas, which Prof. Max M\u00fcller compares with the Greek Herm\u00eas. At\nany rate, the same conception of a dog of the dawn which guards the\napproach to the realm of Hades is found in the Greek Kerberos with\nhis fifty heads (or three heads, according to later writers), as well\nas in the dog of Geryon named Orthros or \u201cthe dawn,\u201d who seems to be\nidentical with the Vedic Vritra the demon of night. It would appear,\ntherefore, that in the primitive mythology both of the Hindus and of\nthe Accadians the \u201cfleet\u201d dawn was likened to a dog, sometimes regarded\nas carrying men away to the dark under-world, sometimes as bringing\nlight to the under-world itself.\n\nThe latter part of the tablet is somewhat obscure, but refers to the\ncustom of lamenting for Dumuzi or Tammuz.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[18] Another copy of the legend reads \u201clover.\u201d\n\n[19] Literally, \u201ca thing hung up.\u201d\n\n[20] Or \u201cbull of heaven.\u201d It was a constellation, perhaps Taurus.\n\n[21] \u201cJoy\u201d and \u201cSeduction.\u201d\n\n[22] A great necropolis seems to have existed in Cutha.\n\n[23] Literally \u201cprecious stones.\u201d\n\n[24] That is, \u201cGo forth, cause it to be light!\u201d\n\n[25] Literally \u201cthe man who is a female dog,\u201d or \u201clion.\u201d\n\n[26] Literally \u201cstone stakes\u201d or \u201ccones,\u201d the symbols of the goddess\nAsh\u00earah. Cf. 1 Kings vii. 15-22.\n\n[27] Tillili, the Accadian name of Kharimat, is here used. Tillili was\nthe wife of the Sun-god Alala symbolized by the eagle, which we are\ntold was \u201cthe symbol of the southern\u201d or \u201cmeridian sun.\u201d What Sir H.\nRawlinson calls the monotheistic party among the Babylonians resolved\nTillili into Anatu and Alala into Anu.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nILLNESS AND WANDERINGS OF IZDUBAR.\n\n Hea-bani and the trees.\u2014Illness of Izdubar.\u2014Death of Hea-bani.\u2014Journey\n of Izdubar.\u2014His dream.\u2014Scorpion men.\u2014The Desert of Mas.\u2014Siduri\n and Sabitu.\u2014Nes-Hea the pilot.\u2014Water of death.\u2014Mua.\u2014The\n conversation.\u2014Xisuthrus.\n\n\nOf the three tablets in this section, the first one is very uncertain,\nand is put together from two separate sources: the other two are more\ncomplete and satisfactory.\n\n\nTABLET VIII.\n\nIt is again uncertain if any of this tablet has been discovered;\nprovisionally some fragments of the first, second, third, and sixth\ncolumns of a tablet which may belong to it are placed here, but the\nonly fragment worth translating at present is one given in Mr. Smith\u2019s\n\u201cAssyrian Discoveries,\u201d p. 176. In some portions of these fragments\nthere are references to the story of Khumbaba, but as the fragment\nappears to refer to the illness of Izdubar it probably belongs here.\n\n\nK. 3588.\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. ....\n\n   \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n2. Hea-bani (his mouth opened and spake and)\n\n3. said to ....\n\n4. I went (?) ....\n\n5. in the ....\n\n6. the door ....\n\n7. of ....\n\n8 and 9. ....\n\n10. in ....\n\n11. Hea-bani ..........\n\n12. with the door .... thy ...\n\n13. the door on its sides does not ...\n\n14. the creation of her ears they are not ...\n\n15. for twenty kaspu (140 miles) I climbed up ...\n\n16. as far as the pine tree a shrub (?) I had seen ...\n\n17. thy tree (?) has not another ...\n\n18. Six gars (120 feet) is thy height, two gars (40 feet) is thy\nbreadth ....\n\n19. thy street, thy blackness (?) thy rain ...\n\n20. I made thee, I raised thee in the city of Nipur ....\n\n21. yea I knew thy door like this ...\n\n22. and this ...\n\n23. I raised its face, I ...\n\n24. I will fill thy bank (?) .....\n\n25. .....\n\n26. for he took ...\n\n27. the pine tree, the cedar, ...\n\n28. in its cover ...\n\n29. thou also ....\n\n30. may take ...\n\n31. in the collection of everything ...\n\n32. a great destruction ...\n\n33. the whole of the trees ..\n\n34. in thy land of the tree manubani ...\n\n35. thy bush? is not strong ...\n\n36. thy shadow is not great ...\n\n37. and thy smell is not agreeable ...\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n38. The manubani tree was angry ...\n\n39. made a likeness?\n\n40. like the tree ...\n\n......\n\nThe second, third, fourth and fifth columns appear to be entirely\nabsent, the inscription reappearing on a fragment of the sixth column.\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n(Many lines lost.)\n\n1. The dream which I saw ....\n\n2. the tops of the mountain ....\n\n3. ... he struck ....\n\n4. he struck when thy royal raiment ....\n\n5. he begat also in ....\n\n6. He recounted to his friend Hea-bani the dream ...\n\n7. My friend, the good omen of the dream ....\n\n8. the dream was deceptive ....\n\n9. My friend, the mountain which thou didst see ....\n\n10. when I captured Khumbaba we ....\n\n11. ... of his helpers Nitakh-garri ....\n\n12. at the time of dawn ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. For twenty kaspu they journeyed a stage\n\n14. at thirty kaspu they fixed\n\n15. in the presence of Samas they dug out a pit (?) ....\n\n16. Izdubar ascended also over ....\n\n17. by the side of his house he crossed over ....\n\n18. ... he brought the dream ....\n\n19. he made it and the god ....\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. ... he brought the dream ....\n\n2. he made it and the god ....\n\n3. ... turban? ....\n\n4. he cast him down and ....\n\n5. the mountain like corn of the field ....\n\n6. Izdubar at the destruction (?) set up ....\n\n7. Anatu the troubler of men upon him struck,\n\n8. and in the struggle his going he stayed.\n\n9. He spake and said to his friend:\n\n10. My friend thou dost not ask me why I am naked,\n\n11. thou dost not inquire of me why I am spoiled,\n\n12. because the god passed over, wherefore my limbs are hot.\n\n13. My friend I saw a third dream;\n\n14. that dream which I saw entirely disappeared.\n\n15. They prayed; the god thunders on the ground.\n\n16. He burnt up the exit of the darkness;\n\n17. the lightning struck; a fire was kindled;\n\n18. .... they took away; it rained death.\n\n19. The glow also (disappeared), the fire sank,\n\n20. .... they struck; it turned to a palm tree,\n\n21. in the desert also thy lord took (his) path (?).\n\n22. And Hea-bani his dream considered; he said to Izdubar:\n\n23. .... Samas thy lord, the creator ....\n\nThe fourth and fifth columns of this tablet are lost. This part of the\nlegend appears to refer to the illness of Izdubar.\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n1. My friend ... the dream which is not ...\n\n2. the day he dreamed the dream, the end ...\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. Hea-bani lay down also one day ...\n\n4. which Hea-bani on (his) bed ...\n\n5. the third day and the fourth day which ...\n\n6. the fifth, and sixth, and seventh (days) ...\n\n7. the eighth (and ninth, and tenth days) ....\n\n8. when Hea-bani was sick ...\n\n9. the eleventh and twelfth (days) ...\n\n10. Hea-bani on (his) bed ...\n\n11. Izdubar read also ...\n\n12. Did my friend defend me ...\n\n13. whenever in the midst of fight ...\n\n14. I turn (?) to battle and ...\n\n15. my friend who in battle ...\n\n16. I in ......\n\nIt must here be noted that Mr. Smith\u2019s grounds for making this the\neighth tablet were extremely doubtful, and it is possible that the\nfragments are of different tablets; but they fill up an evident blank\nin the story here, and they are consequently inserted pending further\ndiscoveries as to their true position.\n\nIn the first column Hea-bani appears to be addressing certain trees,\nand they are supposed to have the power of hearing and answering\nhim. Hea-bani praises one tree and sneers at another, but from the\nmutilation of the text it does not appear why he acts so. We may\nconjecture he was seeking a charm to open a door he mentions, and that\naccording to the story this charm was known to the trees. The fragment\nof the sixth column shows Hea-bani unable to interpret a dream, while\nIzdubar asks his friend to fight.\n\nAfter this happened the violent death of Hea-bani, which added to the\nmisfortunes of Izdubar; but no fragment of this part of the story is\npreserved.\n\n\nTABLET IX.\n\nThis tablet is in a somewhat better state than the others, and all\nthe narrative is clearer from this point, not a single column of the\ninscription being entirely lost. The ninth tablet commences with the\nsorrow of Izdubar at the death of Hea-bani.\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. Izdubar over Hea-bani his friend\n\n2. bitterly weeps, and traverses the desert.\n\n3. I have no judgment like Hea-bani here;\n\n4. sickness entered into my stomach;\n\n5. death I feared, and traverse the desert.\n\n6. To the majesty of Xisuthrus, son of Ubara-tutu,\n\n7. the road I am taking, and quickly I go;\n\n8. to the lowlands of the mountains I take (my way) at night.\n\n9. .... a (dream) I saw, and I feared.\n\n10. I (bow) on my face, to Sin (the moon god) I pray;\n\n11. and into the presence of the gods came my supplication;\n\n12. Grant thou (health) to me, even unto me!\n\n13. ....... dream.\n\n14. (Through) the dream (sent by) Sin (my) life had been gladdened.\n\n15. Precious stones (?) ... to his hand.\n\n16. He pulled out ..... his girdle\n\n17. like a ... their ... he struck\n\n18. he struck .... he smote, he broke\n\n19. and .... they rejoiced, and\n\n20. he threw (?) ....\n\n21. he removed ....\n\n22. the former name ....\n\n23. the new name ....\n\n  (About eight lines lost here.)\n\nThe second column shows Izdubar in some fabulous region, whither he\nhas wandered in search of Xisuthrus. Here he sees composite monsters\nwith their feet resting in Hades and their heads reaching heaven. These\nbeings are supposed to guide and direct the sun at its rising and\nsetting. This passage is as follows:\u2014\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. Of the mountains hearing him as many as ....\n\n2. To the mountain of Masu in his course ....\n\n3. who all day long guard the rising (sun).\n\n4. Their crown was at the lattice of heaven,\n\n5. below Hades was their footing.\n\n6. Scorpion-men guard its gate,\n\n7. burning with terribleness, and their appearance was death,\n\n8. the greatness of their bulk overthrows the forests.\n\n9. At the rising of the sun and the setting of the sun, they guard the\nsun, and\n\n10. Izdubar saw them and fear and terror seized his face.\n\n11. He took his counsel and approached before them.\n\n12. The scorpion-man of his female asked:\n\n13. Who has gone to us with his body the flesh of the gods?\n\n14. To the scorpion-man his female answered:\n\n15. His going (is) that of a god, but his feeble gait (is) that of a\nman.\n\n16. The scorpion-man of the hero asked,\n\n17. .... of the gods the word he recounts:\n\n18. .... distant road\n\n19. .... up to the presence\n\n20. .... of which the passage is difficult.\n\n21. .... thy .... thou puttest on.\n\n22. .... mountains situated.\n\n23. .... thou puttest on.\n\nThe rest of this column is lost. In it Izdubar converses with the\nmonsters, and where the third column begins he is telling them his\npurpose of seeking Xisuthrus.\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n(1 and 2 lost.)\n\n3. He Xisuthrus my father .....\n\n4. who has been established also in the assembly (of the gods)\n\n5. death and life [are known to him].\n\n6. The scorpion-man opened his mouth (and spake);\n\n7. they say to Izdubar:\n\n8. Izdubar was not ....\n\n9. of the mountain ....\n\n10. for twelve kaspu (84 miles) [is the journey];\n\n11. on the boundary of the field did he carry himself, and (there is)\nno light.\n\n12. To the rising sun ....\n\n13. to the setting sun ....\n\n14. to the setting sun ....\n\n15. they descended ....\n\nIn this mutilated passage, the monster describes the journey to be\ntaken by Izdubar; there are now many lines wanting, until we come to\nthe fourth column.\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. In (his) sickness ....\n\n2. in difficulty and ....\n\n3. in lamentation and ....\n\n4. again thou ....\n\n5. the scorpion-man ....\n\n6. (said) to Izdubar ....\n\n7. Go Izdubar ....\n\n8. the mountains of Mas ....\n\n9. the mountains, the path (of the Sun) ....\n\n10. may the women ....\n\n11. the great gate of the land ....\n\n12. Izdubar ....\n\n13. for a memorial ....\n\n14. the road of the sun ....\n\n15. 1 kaspu (he went) ....\n\n16. on the boundary of the field ....\n\n17. he was not able (to look behind him).\n\n18. 2 kaspu (he went) ....\n\nThis is the bottom of the fourth column; there are five lines lost at\nthe top of the fifth column, and then the narrative reopens; the text\nis, however, mutilated and doubtful.\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n6. 4 (kaspu he went) ....\n\n7. on the boundary (of the field)....\n\n8. he was not able (to look behind him).\n\n9. 5 kaspu (he went) ....\n\n10. on the boundary of the field ....\n\n11. he was not able (to look behind him).\n\n12. 6 kaspu he went ....\n\n13. on the boundary of the field did he carry himself (and there is no\nlight).\n\n14. He was not able (to look behind him).\n\n15. 7 kaspu (he went) ....\n\n16. on the boundary of the field was it situated and not ....\n\n17. he was not able to look behind him.\n\n18. 8 kaspu like a .... he mounts up;\n\n19. on the boundary of the field (did he carry himself and) there is no\nlight.\n\n20. He was not able to look behind him.\n\n21. 9 kaspu he went .... to the north\n\n22. .... his face\n\n23. (on the boundary of the field did he carry himself and) there is no\nlight;\n\n24. (he was not able) to look behind him.\n\n25. (10 kaspu he went) .... him\n\n26. .... a meeting\n\n27. .... 4 kaspu\n\n28. .... from the shadow of the sun\n\n29. .... sight was established\n\n30. to the forest of the trees of the gods in appearance it was equal.\n\n[Illustration: IZDUBAR AMONG THE TREES OF THE GODS (?) FROM A\nBABYLONIAN CYLINDER FOUND IN CYPRUS BY GEN. DI CESNOLA.]\n\n31. Emeralds it carried as its fruit,\n\n32. the branch refuses not to support a canopy.\n\n33. Crystals they carry as shoots (?)\n\n34. fruit they carry, and to the sight it is glistening.\n\nSome of the words in this fragment are obscure, but the general meaning\nis clear. In the next column the wanderings of Izdubar are continued,\nand he comes to a country near the sea. Fragments of several lines\nof this column are preserved, but too mutilated to translate with\ncertainty. The fragments are:\u2014\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n(About six lines lost.)\n\n1. the pine tree ....\n\n2. its nest of stone ....\n\n3. not sweeping away the sea .... jet stones\n\n4. like the tree of Elam and the tree of the prince .... emeralds\n\n5. a locust ....\n\n6. jet stone, ka stone .... the goddess Istar\n\n7. like bronze and .... he carried\n\n8. like .... obstacles\n\n9. which .... the sea\n\n10. it has, and .... may he raise\n\n11. Izdubar [saw this] in his travelling,\n\n12. on this sea he carried ....\n\n13. Colophon. The women Siduri and Sabitu (who on the shore) of the sea\ndwelt.\n\n14. .... tablet of the series: \u201cWhen the hero Izdubar saw the\nfountain.\u201d\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nThis tablet brings Izdubar to the region of the sea-coast, but his way\nis then barred by two women, one named Siduri and the other Sabitu. His\nfurther adventures are given on the tenth tablet, which opens:\n\n\nTABLET X.\n\n1. Siduri and Sabitu (who in the land beside the sea)\n\n2. dwelt and ....\n\n3. it was the moon, it was the moon ....\n\n4. a covering of fire (?) ye accomplish.\n\n5. Izdubar approached and ....\n\n6. the ulcer covering (his) skin\n\n7. he had the brand of the gods on (his) ....\n\n8. there is shame of face on ....\n\n9. to go on the distant path his face (was set).\n\n10. Sabitu afar off pondered,\n\n11. she counselled to her heart (this) plan.\n\n12. Within herself also she (considered):\n\n13. What is this message ....\n\n14. May no one come straight in (his path).\n\n15. When Sabitu saw him she entered (her gate);\n\n16. her gate she entered and entered her ....\n\n17. And he Izdubar had ears to (hear her);\n\n18. he had struck his hands and made ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n19. Izdubar to her also even said (to Sabitu:)\n\n20. Sabitu what didst thou see (that)\n\n21. thy gate thou barrest ....\n\n22. I force the door ....\n\nThe rest of this column is lost, but it must have described the meeting\nof Izdubar with a boatman named Ur-Hea or Lig-Hea, called Nes-Hea \u201cthe\nlion\u201d or \u201cdog of Hea\u201d in Assyrian. In the second column they commence\na journey by water together in a boat. But little of this column is\npreserved; two fragments only are given here.\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. .... he the word of his friend ....\n\n2. .... the word of Hea-bani ....\n\n3. .... I traverse (the desert).\n\n4. .... (in) the dust he had ....\n\n5. (the friend whom I have loved declared) lovingly; Hea-bani the\nfriend whom I have loved made ....\n\n6. (I am not as he) and would we had never gone up ....\n\n7. (I did not make) the fortress of ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n8. (Izdubar to) her also speaks, even to Sabit:\n\n9. (Again) O Sabit what is the way to Xisuthrus?\n\n10. Explain the tokens of it to me; yea, explain the tokens of it to me.\n\n11. If it be suitable the sea let me cross,\n\n12. if it be not suitable the desert let me traverse.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. Sabit to him also speaks, even to Izdubar:\n\n14. There was no crossing (of the sea), O Izdubar, at any time,\n\n15. and no one from remote times onwards has crossed the sea.\n\n16. From crossing the sea Samas the hero I the mother prevented; (yet)\nSamas crossed, whoever\n\n17. his mouth the passage .... its road,\n\n18. and the well of the waters of death which extend before it\n\n19. I approach, and, Izdubar, thou crossest the sea.\n\n20. When thou hast come round to the waters of death, thou contrivest\nhow\n\n21. for Izdubar there is Ur-Hea the boatman of Xisuthrus.\n\n22. Precious stones with him in the midst of the forest ....\n\n23. .... may they see thy face.\n\n24. .... and to cross with him if it is not suitable hasten behind him\n\n25. .... upon hearing this,\n\n26. .... an axe in the hand.\n\n27. .... to their well he returns.\n\n28, 29, 30. ....\n\n31. .... Izdubar\n\n32. .... and his lower part\n\n33. .... the ship\n\n34. .... (the waters) of death\n\n35. .... wide\n\n36. .... the field\n\n37. .... to the river\n\n38. .... ship\n\n39. .... the well\n\n40. .... the boatman\n\n41. .... he descended\n\n42. .... to thee\n\nHere there are many lines lost, then recommencing the story proceeds on\nthe third column.\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. my friend whom I have loved made ....\n\n2. I am not as he and would we had never gone up ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n3. Izdubar to him also speaks, even to Ur-Hea;\n\n4. Again, Ur-Hea, what (is the way to Xisuthrus?)\n\n5. what are its signs explain to me; yea, explain (to me its signs).\n\n6. If it be suitable the sea let me cross; if it be not suitable the\ndesert let me traverse.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. Ur-Hea to him also speaks, even to (Izdubar):\n\n8. Thy hand, Izdubar, it prevents ....\n\n9. thou hidest among the precious stones thou ...\n\n10. the precious stones (are) a hiding-place [or canopy] and they are\nnot ...\n\n11. Take, Izdubar, an axe in (thy hands) ....\n\n12. go down to the forest and a clearing of five _gar_ (make).\n\n13. Bury and make a tumulus; carry ....\n\n14. Izdubar on his hearing this,\n\n15. took the axe in his hand ....\n\n16. he went down to the forest and a clearing of five _gar_ (made):\n\n17. he buried and made a tumulus; he carried ....\n\n18. Izdubar and Ur-Hea rode (in the ship);\n\n19. the ship the waves took and they ....\n\n20. a journey of one month and fifteen days. On the third day in their\ncourse\n\n21. Ur-Hea also reached the waters of death ....\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. Ur-Hea to him also speaks, even to Izdubar:\n\n2. The tablets O Izdubar ....\n\n3. The waters of death smite; never mayest thou enter the dome of the\nhouse (of the abyss).\n\n4. The second time, the third time, and the fourth time go, O Izdubar\n....\n\n5. the fifth, sixth, and seventh time go, O Izdubar ....\n\n6. the eighth, ninth, and tenth time go, O Izdubar ....\n\n7. the eleventh and twelfth time go, O Izdubar ....\n\n8. on the one hundred and twentieth time Izdubar finished ....\n\n9. and he struck the middle of it ....\n\n10. Izdubar seized the .......\n\n11. on his wings an embankment he completed ...\n\n12. Xisuthrus over him afar off pondered,\n\n13. he counselled (this) plan within his heart.\n\n14. With himself also he considered:\n\n15. Why is the hiding-place of the ship ....\n\n16. and the pilot ....\n\n17. the man who went also is not; and ....\n\n18. I ponder, and I do not ....\n\n19. I ponder, and I do not....\n\n20. I ponder, and I do not....\n\n[Illustration: IZDUBAR, COMPOSITE FIGURES, AND UR-HEA IN THE BOAT; FROM\nAN EARLY BABYLONIAN CYLINDER.]\n\nHere there is a blank, the extent of which is uncertain, and where the\nnarrative recommences it is on a small fragment of the third and fourth\ncolumns of another copy. It appears that the lost lines record the\nmeeting between Izdubar and a female being named Mu-seri-ina-namari,\nor the \u201cWaters of dawn at daylight.\u201d In the account of the Deluge,\nMu-seri-ina-namari is mentioned as bringing the black clouds from the\nhorizon of heaven. It was here, beyond the circular boundary of the\nearth, and on the shores of the ocean which surrounded it, that Izdubar\nis now supposed to be.\n\nIt is curious that, whenever Izdubar speaks to this being, the name\nMua is used, while, whenever Izdubar is spoken to, the full name\nMu-seri-ina-namari occurs. Where the story reopens Izdubar is informing\nMua of his first connection with Hea-bani and his offers to him when he\ndesired him to come to Erech.\n\n\nCOLUMN III. (fragment).\n\n1. for my friend....\n\n2. free thee....\n\n3. weapon....\n\n4. bright star....\n\n\nCOLUMN IV. (fragment).\n\n1. On a beautiful couch I will seat thee,\n\n2. I will cause thee to sit on a comfortable seat on the left,\n\n3. the kings of the earth shall kiss thy feet.\n\n4. I will enrich thee and the men of Erech I will make silent before\nthee,\n\n5. and I after thee will take all....\n\n6. I will clothe thy body in raiment and....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. Mu-seri-ina-namari on hearing this\n\n8. his fetters loosed ....\n\nThe speech of Mua to Izdubar and the rest of the column are lost, the\nnarrative recommencing on Column V. with another speech of Izdubar.\n\n\nCOLUMN V. (fragment).\n\n1. .... to me\n\n2. .... my ... I wept\n\n3. .... bitterly I spoke\n\n4. .... my hand\n\n5. .... ascended to me\n\n6. .... to me\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n7. .... hy\u00e6na of the desert\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. Izdubar opened his mouth and said to Mu\n\n2. .... my presence?\n\n3. .... not strong\n\n4. .... my face\n\n5. .... lay down in the field,\n\n6. .... of the mountain, the hy\u00e6na of the field,\n\n7. Hea-bani my friend .... the same.\n\n8. No one else was with us, we ascended the mountain.\n\n9. We took it and the city we destroyed.\n\n10. We conquered also Khumbaba who in the forest of pine trees dwelt.\n\n11. Again why did his fingers lay hold to slay the lions?\n\n12. Thou wouldst have feared and thou wouldst not have .. all the\ndifficulty.\n\n13. And he did not succeed in slaying the same;\n\n14. his heart failed, and he did not strike .... over him I wept,\n\n15. he covered also my friend like a corpse in a grave,\n\n16. like a lion? he tore? him\n\n17. like a lioness? placed .... field\n\n18. he was cast down to the face of the earth\n\n19. he broke? and destroyed his defence? ....\n\n20. he was cut off and given to pour out? ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n21. Mu-seri-ina-namari on hearing this\n\nHere the record is again mutilated, but Izdubar further informs Mua\nwhat he did in conjunction with Hea-bani. Where the story reopens on\nColumn VI. Izdubar relates part of their adventure with Khumbaba.\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n1. .... taking\n\n2. .... to thee\n\n3. .... thou art great\n\n4. .... all the account\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n5. .... forest of pine trees\n\n6. .... went night and day\n\n7. .... the extent of Erech the lofty\n\n8. .... he approached after us\n\n9. .... he opened the land of forests\n\n10. .... we ascended\n\n11. .... in the midst like thy mother\n\n12. .... cedar and pine trees\n\n13. .... with our strength\n\n14. .... silent\n\n15. .... he of the field\n\n16. .... by her side\n\n17. .... the Euphrates\n\nHere again our narrative is lost, and where we again meet the story\nIzdubar is conversing with Xisuthrus. The conversation is contained\nin the broken fifth column of K 3382, first noticed and copied by Mr.\nPinches.\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. .... Mua\n\n2. .... my ...\n\n3. .... they are not like.\n\n4. .... before me.\n\n5. .... traversed the desert.\n\n6. .... the glare of the desert.\n\n7. .... the same.\n\n8. .... the mountain.\n\n9. .... we destroy.\n\n10. .... (among) the royal tree (and) the pine they dwell.\n\n11. .... lions.\n\n12. .... times to come.\n\n13. .... were slain, the same.\n\n14. .... over him I wept.\n\n15. .... burial.\n\n16. .... him.\n\n17. .... the desert.\n\n18. .... over me; thou hast gone round ....\n\n19. .... I turned back; the ship (?) I ....\n\n20. (my friend) whom I have loved declared lovingly; Hea-bani my friend\n(made) ....\n\n21. (I) am not as he, and would we had never gone up; I did not make a\nfortress ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n22. Izdubar to him also speaks, even to Xisuthrus:\n\n23. Thus may I go and Xisuthrus afar off, who has conversed with him,\nmay I see.\n\n24. I went round, I went through all countries;\n\n25. I passed through difficult lands;\n\n26. I crossed all seas.\n\n27. A good .... they did not dwell before me.\n\n28. I exhausted myself through weakness; with my .... the crown I\nfilled.\n\n29. .... the house I did not reach, and my clothing was decayed.\n\n30. .... of a leopard, a tiger, a raging winged bull ....\n\n31. their (lairs) I approached; their skins I stripped off ....\n\n32. .... may they bar its gate; with much bitumen ....\n\n33. .... the contents ....\n\n34. .... the sides ....\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n35. (Xisuthrus) to him speaks, even to Izdubar:\n\n36. .... O Izdubar, sickness ....\n\n37. .... gods and men ....\n\n38. .... thy (father) and thy mother made ....\n\nWe now come to a fragment which forms the reverse of the tablet already\ntranslated, and recounts the visit of Izdubar to the two women Siduri\nand Sabitu. This reads as follows:\u2014\n\n1. I was angry (?) ....\n\n2. If at any time we built a house, if ever we establish ....\n\n3. If ever brothers fixed ....\n\n4. If ever hatred is in ....\n\n5. If ever the river makes a (great) flood.\n\n6. (If ever) reviling within the mouth ....\n\n7. the face that will bow before Samas ....\n\n8. from of old is not ....\n\n9. Spoiling and death together ....\n\n10. of death the image they guarded not ....\n\n11. The man or servant on approaching (death),\n\n12. the spirits of the earth the great gods are they.\n\n13. The goddess Mammetu maker of fate, to them their fate brings,\n\n14. she has fixed death and life;\n\n15. of death its days are not known.\n\n[Illustration: COMPOSITE FIGURES (SCORPION MEN); FROM AN ASSYRIAN\nCYLINDER.]\n\nThis statement closes the tenth tablet and leads to the next question\nof Izdubar and its answer, which includes the story of the Flood.\n\nThe present division of the legends has its own peculiar difficulties;\nin the first place it does not appear how Hea-bani was killed. Possibly\nhe fell in an attempt to slay a lion.\n\nThe land of Mas or desert of Mas over which Izdubar travels in this\ntablet is the desert on the west of the Euphrates, and the name\nreminds us of the Biblical Mash who is called a son of Aram in Genesis\nx. 23; on the sixth column the fragments appear to refer to some bird\nwith magnificent feathers like precious stones, seen by Izdubar on his\njourney.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE FLOOD AND CONCLUSION.\n\n Eleventh tablet.\u2014The gods.\u2014Sin of the world.\u2014Command to build\n the ark.\u2014Its contents.\u2014The building.\u2014The Flood.\u2014Destruction\n of people.\u2014Fear of the gods.\u2014End of Deluge.\u2014Nizir.\u2014Resting of\n ark.\u2014The birds.\u2014The descent from the ark.\u2014The sacrifice, covenant,\n and rainbow.\u2014Speeches of gods.\u2014Translation of Adra-Khasis.\u2014Cure\n of Izdubar.\u2014His return.\u2014Lament over Hea-bani.\u2014Resurrection of\n Hea-bani.\u2014Burial of warrior.\u2014Age and composition of the Deluge\n tablet.\u2014Comparison with Genesis.\u2014Syrian nation.\u2014Connection of\n legends.\u2014Points of contact.\u2014Duration of Deluge.\u2014Mount of descent.\u2014Ten\n generations.\u2014Early cities.\n\n\nThe eleventh tablet of the Izdubar series is the one which first\nattracted attention, and is certainly the most important on account of\nits containing the story of the Flood. This tablet is the most perfect\nin the series, scarcely any line being entirely lost. A new fragment\nof it, belonging to another edition of the story, has been recently\nbrought to the museum by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam.\n\n\nTABLET XI.\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. (Izdubar) to him also speaks even to Xisuthrus afar off:\n\n2. O Xisuthrus,\n\n3. (why) dost thou not again (to me) as I (to thee)?\n\n4. (why) dost thou not again (to me) as I (to thee)?\n\n5. .... my heart to make war\n\n6. .... I come up after thee,\n\n7. when thou didst take, and in the assembly of the gods didst obtain\nlife.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n8. Xisuthrus to him also speaks, even to Izdubar:\n\n9. Let me reveal to thee (Izdubar) the story of my preservation,\n\n10. and the judgment of the gods let me relate to thee.\n\n11. The city Surippak the city which thou knowest on the Euphrates is\nplaced,\n\n12. that city is ancient and the gods are within it.\n\n13. To make a deluge [_or_ whirlwind] the great gods have brought their\nheart;\n\n14. even he their father, Anu,\n\n15. their king, the warrior Bel,\n\n16. their throne-bearer, Ninip,\n\n17. their minister, the lord of Hades, Nin-si-kha (wife of) Hea with\nthem sat, and\n\n18. their will he (_i.e._ Hea) repeated: to his minister the minister\nof the city of Kis, he declared what he had (in mind);[28]\n\n19. his minister heard and proclaimed attentively:\n\n20. Man of Surippak, son of Ubara-tutu,\n\n21. build a house, make a ship to preserve the sleep of plants (and)\nliving beings;\n\n22. store the seed and vivify life,\n\n23. cause also the seed of life of every kind to go up into the midst\nof the ship.\n\n24. The ship which thou shalt make,\n\n25. 600 cubits (shall be) its measure in length,\n\n26. 60 cubits the amount of its breadth and its height.\n\n27. ... and on the deep cover it, even it, with a roof.\n\n28. I understood and say to Hea my lord:\n\n29. The building of the ship which thou commandest thus,\n\n30. .... I shall have made,\n\n31. .... the sons of the host and the old men.\n\n32. (Hea opened his mouth and) speaks and says to me his servant:\n\n33. ...... thou shalt say unto them,\n\n34. ...... he has rejected me and\n\n35. ...... it is upon me\n\n36. .... like caves ....\n\n37. ... may I judge above and below ....\n\n38. ... close the ship ...\n\n39. ... at the season which I will make known to you,\n\n40. into it enter and the door of the ship turn.\n\n41. Into the midst of it thy grain, thy furniture, thy goods,\n\n42. thy wealth, thy woman slaves, thy handmaids, and the sons of the\nhost,\n\n43. (the beasts) of the field, the wild animals of the field, as many\nas I would protect,\n\n44. I will send to thee, and thy door shall guard (them).\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n45. Adrakhasis[29] his mouth opened and speaks, and\n\n46. says to Hea his lord:\n\n47. No one a ship has made ...\n\n48. in the lower part of the ship has shut up ....\n\n49. .... and may I see the ship ....\n\n50. .... in the lower part of the ship ....\n\n51. the building of the ship which thou commandest me (thus),\n\n52. which in ....\n\n\nCOLUMN II.\n\n1. strong ....\n\n2. on the fifth day .... it rose.\n\n3. In its circuit 14 in all (were) its girders.\n\n4. 14 in all it contained ... above it\n\n5. I placed its roof; it .... I enclosed it.\n\n6. I rode in it the sixth time; I divided its passages the seventh time;\n\n7. its interior I divided the eighth time.\n\n8. Leaks for the waters within it I cut off.\n\n9. I saw the rents and the wanting parts I added.\n\n10. 3[30] _sari_ of bitumen I poured over the outside.\n\n11. 3[30] _sari_ of bitumen I poured over the inside.\n\n12. 3 _sari_ of men carrying baskets, who carried on their heads food.\n\n13. I added a _saros_ of food which the people should eat;\n\n14. two _sari_ of food the boatmen shared.\n\n15. To .... I sacrificed oxen\n\n16. I (established) ........ each day\n\n17. I (established) ........ beer, food, and wine;\n\n18. (I collected them) like the waters of a river, and\n\n19. (I collected) like the dust of the earth, and\n\n20. (in the ship) the food with my hand I placed.\n\n21. (Through the help of) Samas the seaworthiness of the ship was\naccomplished.\n\n22. ... they were strong and\n\n23. the tackling of the ship I caused to bring above and below.\n\n24. ........ they went in two-thirds of it.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n25. All I possessed I collected it, all I possessed I collected it in\nsilver,\n\n26. all I possessed I collected it in gold,\n\n27. all I possessed I collected it in the seed of life of all kinds.\n\n28. I caused everything to go up into the ship, my slaves and my\nhandmaids,\n\n29. the beast of the field, the wild animal of the field, the sons of\nthe people all of them, I caused to go up.\n\n30. The season Samas fixed and\n\n31. he spake saying: In the night I will cause it to rain from heaven\nheavily,\n\n32. enter into the midst of the ship and shut thy door.\n\n33. That season came round (of which)\n\n34. he spake saying: In the night I will cause it to rain from heaven\nheavily.\n\n35. Of the day I reached its evening,\n\n36. the day of watching fear I had.\n\n37. I entered into the midst of the ship and shut my door.\n\n38. On closing the ship to Buzur-sadi-rabi the boatman\n\n39. the habitation I gave with its goods.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n40. Mu-seri-ina-namari\n\n41. arose, from the horizon of heaven a black cloud.\n\n42. Rimmon in the midst of it thundered, and\n\n43. Nebo and the Wind-god went in front,\n\n44. the throne-bearers went over the mountain and plain,\n\n45. Nergal the mighty removes the wicked,\n\n46. Ninip goes in front, he casts down,\n\n47. the spirits of earth carried destruction,\n\n48. in their terror they shake the earth;\n\n49. of Rimmon his flood reached to heaven.\n\n50. The darkened (earth to a waste) was turned,\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. the surface of the earth like .... they covered,\n\n2. (it destroyed all) living beings from the face of the earth;\n\n3. the raging (deluge) over the people, reached to heaven.\n\n4. Brother saw not his brother, men did not know one another. In heaven\n\n5. the gods feared the whirlwind and\n\n6. sought a refuge; they ascended to the heaven of Anu.\n\n7. The gods like dogs were fixed, in a heap did they lie down.\n\n8. Spake Istar like a child,\n\n9. the great goddess uttered her speech:\n\n10. All to clay are turned and\n\n11. that which I in the presence of the gods prophesied (even evil has\nhappened).\n\n12. As I prophesied in the presence of the gods evil,\n\n13. to evil (were devoted) all my people, the trouble I prophesied\nthus:\n\n14. I the mother have begotten my people, and\n\n15. like the young of the fishes they fill the sea. And\n\n16. the gods because of the spirits of earth are weeping with me.\n\n17. The gods on seats are seated in lamentation,\n\n18. covered were their lips for the coming evil.\n\n19. Six days and nights\n\n20. passed, the wind, the whirlwind, (and) the storm, overwhelmed.\n\n21. On the seventh day at its approach the rain was stayed, the raging\nwhirlwind\n\n22. which had smitten like an earthquake,\n\n23. was quieted. The sea began to dry, and the wind and deluge ended.\n\n24. I watched the sea making a noise,\n\n25. and the whole of mankind was turned to clay,\n\n26. like reeds the corpses floated.\n\n27. I opened the window, and the light smote upon the fortress of my\nnostrils.\n\n28. I was grieved and sat down; I weep,\n\n29. over the fortress of my nostrils went my tears.\n\n30. I watched the regions at the boundary of the sea,\n\n31. towards all the twelve points of the compass (there was) no land.\n\n32. In the country of Nizir rested the ship;\n\n33. the mountain of Nizir stopped the ship, and to pass over it it was\nnot able.\n\n34. The first day, the second day, the mountain of Nizir stopped the\nship.\n\n35. The third day, the fourth day, the mountain of Nizir stopped the\nship.\n\n36. The fifth day, the sixth day, the mountain of Nizir stopped the\nship.\n\n37. On the seventh day at its approach\n    \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n38. I sent forth a dove and it left. The dove went, it returned, and\n\n39. a resting-place it did not find, and it came back.\n\n40. I sent forth a swallow and it left. The swallow went, it returned,\nand\n\n41. a resting-place it did not find, and it came back.\n\n42. I sent forth a raven and it left.\n\n43. The raven went, and the carrion on the water it saw, and\n\n44. it did eat, it swam, and turned away, it did not come back.\n\n45. I sent (the animals) forth to the four winds, I sacrificed a\nsacrifice,\n\n46. I built an altar on the peak[31] of the mountain,\n\n47. by sevens vessels I placed,\n\n48. at the bottom of them I spread reeds, pines, and juniper.\n\n49. The gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the good savour;\n\n50. the gods like flies over the sacrificer gathered.\n\n51. From afar also the great goddess at her approach\n\n52. lifted up the mighty arches (_i.e._ the rainbow) which Anu had\ncreated as his glory.\n\n53. The crystal of those gods before me (_i.e._ the rainbow) never may\nI forget;\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. those days I devised with longing that I might never forget.\n\n2. \u2018May the gods come to my altar,\n\n3. may Bel never come to my altar,\n\n4. for he did not consider and had made a whirlwind,\n\n5. and my people he consigned to the abyss.\u2019\n\n6. From afar also Bel at his approach\n\n7. saw, the ship he stopped; Bel was filled with anger against the gods\nand the spirits of heaven:\n\n8. \u2018Let no one come out alive, never may a man live in the abyss.\u2019\n\n9. Ninip his mouth opened, and spake; he says to the warrior Bel:\n\n10. \u2018Who is it except Hea that forms a resolution?\n\n11. and Hea knows and all things he ...\u2019\n\n12. Hea his mouth opened and spake, he says to the warrior Bel:\n\n13. \u2018Thou messenger of the gods, warrior,\n\n14. as thou didst not consider a deluge thou madest.\n\n15. The doer of sin bore his sin, the blasphemer bore his blasphemy.\n\n16. Never may the just prince be cut off, never may the faithful (be\ndestroyed).\n\n17. Instead of thy making a deluge, may lions come and men be\ndiminished;\n\n18. instead of thy making a deluge, may hy\u00e6nas come and men be\ndiminished;\n\n19. instead of thy making a deluge, may a famine happen and the country\nbe (destroyed);\n\n20. instead of thy making a deluge, may pestilence come and men be\ndestroyed.\n\n21. I did not reveal the judgment of the gods.\n\n22. To Adrakhasis (Xisuthrus) a dream I sent, and the judgment of the\ngods he heard.\u2019\n\n23. Again also Bel considers, (_literally_, again consideration was\nconsidered); he approaches the midst of the ship.\n\n24. He took my hand and caused me to ascend up,\n\n25. he caused (me) to ascend; he united my wife to my side;\n\n26. he turned unto us and fixes himself in covenant with us; he\napproaches us:\n\n27. \u2018Formerly Adrakhasis (was) mortal, but\n\n28. again also Adrakhasis and his wife to live as gods are taken away,\nand\n\n29. Adrakhasis also dwells in a remote place at the mouth of the\nrivers.\u2019\n\n30. They took me, and in a remote place at the mouth of the rivers they\ncaused me to dwell.\n\n31. Again also as for thee whomsoever the gods have chosen also,\n\n32. for the health which thou seekest and askest,\n\n33. the bulwarks shall be mounted six days and seven nights,\n\n34. like one who sits in the vicinity of his nest,\n\n35. a way like a storm shall be laid upon him.\n\n36. Adrakhasis to her also says, even to his wife:\n\n37. I announce that the chief who has sought health\n\n38. the way like a storm shall be laid upon him.\n\n39. His wife to him also says even to Adrakhasis afar off:\n\n40. Turn him, and let the man be sent away;\n\n41. by the road that he came may he return in peace,\n\n42. thro\u2019 the great gate going forth let him return to his country.\n\n43. Adrakhasis to her also says, even to his wife:\n\n44. The pain of the man pains thee,\n\n45. mount the bulwarks; his baldness place on his head.\n\n46. And the day when he had mounted the side of the ship,\n\n47. she mounted, his baldness she placed on his head.\n\n48. And the day when he had mounted the side of the ship,\n\n49. first the _sabusat_ of his baldness,\n\n50. second the _mussukat_, third the _radbat_, fourth she opened his\n_zikaman_,\n\n51. fifth the _sibu_ she placed, sixth the _bassat_,\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. seventh in the outlet she turned him and let the man go free.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n2. Izdubar to him also says even to Xisuthrus afar off:\n\n3. In this way thou wast compassionate (?) over me,\n\n4. quickly thou hast begotten me, and thou hast set eyes (on me).\n\n5. Xisuthrus to him also says even to Izdubar.\n\n6. ....... thy baldness,\n\n7. ....... I separated thee,\n\n8. ....... thy baldness,\n\n9. second the _mussukat_, third the _radbat_,\n\n10. fourth I opened thy _zikaman_,\n\n11. fifth the _sibu_ I placed, sixth the _bassat_,\n\n12. seventh in the opening I turned thee.\n\n13. Izdubar to him also says even to Xisuthrus afar off:\n\n14. ...... Xisuthrus whither may I go?\n\n15. ...... they shipped\n\n16. ...... dwelling in death,\n\n17. ...... his tail dies also.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n18. Xisuthrus to him also says even to Nis-Hea the boatman:\n\n19. Nis-Hea, may thy (oar) accomplish a passage for thee.\n\n20. He who ..... on the shore of (the gods) ....\n\n21. the man whom thou goest before, disease has covered his body;\n\n22. illness has overmastered the strength of his limbs.\n\n23. Take him, Nis-Hea, to cleanse carry him,\n\n24. may he cleanse his disease in the water like purity,\n\n25. may he cast off his illness, and may the sea carry it away, may\nhealth cover his skin,\n\n26. may it restore the hair of his head,\n\n27. the hair clothing, the covering of his loins.\n\n28. That he may go to his country, that he may take his road,\n\n29. never may the hair become old and alone may he be alone (_i.e._\nunrivalled).\n\n30. Nis-Hea took him, to cleanse he carried him,\n\n31. his disease in the water like purity (beauty) he cleansed,\n\n32. he cast off his illness, and the sea carried it away, health\ncovered his skin,\n\n33. the hair of his head was restored, the hair clothing the covering\nof his loins.\n\n34. That he might go to his country, that he might take his road,\n\n35. the hair he did not cast off, but alone he was alone.\n\n36. Izdubar and Nis-Hea rode in the ship,\n\n37. where he had placed them they rode.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n38. His wife to him also says even to Xisuthrus afar off:\n\n39. Izdubar goes away, he is at rest, he performs\n\n40. what thou hast given (him to do), and returns to his country.\n\n41. And he even Izdubar lifted up the oar (?);\n\n42. the ship touched the shore.\n\n43. Xisuthrus to him also says even to Izdubar:\n\n44. Izdubar, thou goest away, thou art at rest, thou performest\n\n45. what I gave thee (to do), and thou returnest to thy country.\n\n46. Let the story of my preservation be revealed, O Izdubar,\n\n47. and let the judgment of the gods be related to thee.\n\n48. This account (?) like ........\n\n49. its renown (?) like the Amurdin tree ....\n\n50. if he takes the whole of it in the hand ....\n\n51. To Izdubar he revealed this in his hearing, and ....\n\n52. he bound together heavy stones ....\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n1. they dragged it and to the deep ....\n\n2. he even Izdubar took the animal ....\n\n3. he cut the heavy stones ....\n\n4. one homer he poured out in libation to it for his ship.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n5. Izdubar to him also says even to Nis-Hea, the boatman:\n\n6. O Nis-Hea, the whole of this, even the whole of the story,\n\n7. of which a man in his heart shall take its story,\n\n8. may he bring it to the midst of Erech the lofty, may he complete\n(it) like ....\n\n9. .... splendour (which) is diminished ....\n\n10. May I record and return to perform my vengeance (?).\n\n11. For 10 kaspu (70 miles) they journeyed the stage, for 20 kaspu (140\nmiles) they made hostility;\n\n12. Izdubar saw a well which the waters were excavating.\n\n13. He turned to the bright waters and smells (?) the waters; ....\ngrant me thy image (?)\n\n14. .... the men he approached and (their) goods he took away (?)\n\n15. at his return they tore the hair.\n\n16. Izdubar approached (?) ....\n\n17. over the fortress of his nostrils coursed his tears, and he says to\nNis-Hea the boatman:\n\n18. What is it to me, Nis-Hea, that my hands rest?\n\n19. What is it to me that my heart lives?\n\n20. I have not done good to my own self;\n\n21. and yet the lion of the earth does good (to himself).\n\n22. Again for 20 kaspu (140 miles) alone I take the way, and\n\n23. when I had opened the .... I heaped up the tackling,\n\n24. the sea against its long wall I urged.\n\n25. And he left the ship by the shore, 20 kaspu (140 miles) they\njourneyed the stage.\n\n26. For 30 kaspu (210 miles) they performed the labour,\nthey came into the midst of Erech the lofty.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n27. Izdubar to him also says, even to Nis-Hea the boatman:\n\n28. Ascend, Nis-Hea, over the fortress of Erech go;\n\n29. the foundation-stone is scattered, the bricks of its interior are\nnot made,\n\n30. and its foundation is not laid to thy height (?);\n\n31. 1 _saros_ (is) thy city, 1 _saros_ the plantations, 1 _saros_ the\nboundary of the temple of Nantur the house of Istar,\n\n32. 3 _sari_ together the city of Erech ...\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\nThe opening line of the next tablet is preserved, it reads: \u201cThe\ngad-fly in the house of the serving-man was left.\u201d After this the story\nis again lost for several lines, and where it reappears Izdubar is\nmourning for Hea-bani.\n\nThe fragments of this tablet are:\u2014\n\n\nCOLUMN I.\n\n1. The gad-fly in the house of the serving-man was left.\n\n  (Several lines lost.)\n\n1. Izdubar (lamented thus over Hea-bani his friend:)\n\n2. If to ....\n\n3. to happiness thou (art not admitted);\n\n4. a shining cloak (thou dost not wear),\n\n5. like a misfortune (?) thou ....\n\n6. Fat (and) goodly food thou dost not share;\n\n7. to (come to) its savour they do not choose thee.\n\n8. The bow against the ground thou dost not aim,\n\n9. what the bow has struck escapes thee:\n\n10. the staff to thy hands thou dost not lift,\n\n11. the captive will not curse thee:\n\n12. sandals to thy feet thou dost not bind,\n\n13. a thrust against the ground thou dost not make.\n\n14. Thy wife whom thou lovest thou dost not kiss,\n\n15. thy wife whom thou hatest thou dost not strike;\n\n16. thy child whom thou lovest thou dost not kiss,\n\n17. thy child whom thou hatest thou dost not strike.\n\n18. The destruction of the earth has seized thee.\n\n19. Ninazu, of darkness the mother, of darkness, of darkness,\n\n20. her illustrious stature as his mantle covers him, and\n\n21. her feet like a deep well beget [_or_ darken] him.\n\nThis is the bottom of the first column. The next column has lost all\nthe upper part: it appears to have contained the remainder of this\nlament, an appeal to one of the gods on behalf of Hea-bani, and a\nrepetition of the lamentation, the third person being used instead of\nthe second. The fragments commence in the middle of this:\n\n1. his wife whom he hates he strikes,\n\n2. his child whom he loves he kisses;\n\n3. his child whom he has hated he strikes,\n\n4. the destruction of the earth takes him.\n\n5. Ninazu, of darkness the mother of darkness, of darkness!\n\n6. Her illustrious stature as a mantle covers him,\n\n7. her feet like a deep well beget him.\n\n8. Lo! Hea-bani from the earth to .....\n\n9. The plague-demon did not take him, fever did not take him, the earth\ntook him.\n\n10. The resting-place of Nergal the unconquered did not take him, the\nearth took him.\n\n11. The place of the battle of heroes did not strike him, the earth\ntook him.\n\n12. Lo! .... ni son of the goddess Ninsun[32] for his servant Hea-bani\nwept;\n\n13. to the house of Bel alone he went.\n\n14. \u201cFather Bel, a gad-fly to the earth struck me,\n\n15. a deadly wound to the earth struck me,\u201d\n\n\nCOLUMN III.\n\n1. Hea-bani who to rest (was not admitted),\n\n2. the plague-demon did not take him, (the earth took him);\n\n3. the resting-place of Nergal the unconquered did not take him, (the\nearth took him).\n\n4. In the place of the battle of heroes they did not (strike him, the\nearth took him).\n\n5. Father Bel, a judgment did not take him.\n\n6. Father Sin, the gad-fly (struck him);\n\n7. a deadly wound (to the earth struck him).\n\n8. Hea-bani who to rest (was not admitted),\n\n9. the plague-demon did not take him, (the earth took him);\n\n10. the resting-place of Nergal (the unconquered did not take him).\n\n(About 12 lines lost, containing a repetition of this passage.)\n\n23. The plague-demon ....\n\n24. the resting-place of Nergal the unconquered (did not take him);\n\n25. the place of the battle of heroes did not (take him).\n\n26. Father Hea ....\n\n27. To the warrior Merodach ....\n\n28. Heroic warrior (Merodach) ....\n\n29. he created him the word ....\n\n30. the spirit ....\n\n31. To his father ....\n\n32. the heroic warrior Merodach (son of Hea)\n\n33. created him the word, the earth opened, and\n\n34. the spirit (or ghost) of Hea-bani like dust from the earth (arose):\n\n35. ..... and thou explainest,\n\n36. he pondered and repeated this:\n\n\nCOLUMN IV.\n\n1. Tell, my friend, tell, my friend,\n\n2. the secrets of the earth which thou hast seen, tell (me).\n\n3. I cannot tell thee, my friend, I cannot tell thee,\n\n4. (how) can I tell thee the secrets of the earth which I have seen?\n\n5. ..... I sit weeping\n\n6. ..... may I sit and may I weep\n\n7. ..... of growth and thy heart rejoiced\n\n8. ..... thou growest old, the worm entered\n\n9. ..... of youth and thy heart rejoiced\n\n10. ..... dust filling\n\n11. ..... he passed over\n\n12. ..... he passed over\n\n13. ..... I saw\n\nHere there is a serious blank in the inscription, about twenty lines\nbeing lost, and Mr. Smith has conjecturally inserted a fragment which\nappears to belong to this part of the narrative. It is very curious\nfrom the geographical names it contains.\n\n1. .... I poured out ....\n\n2. .... which thou trusted ....\n\n3. .... city of Babylon _ri_ ....\n\n4. .... which he was blessed ....\n\n5. .... may he mourn for my fault ....\n\n6. .... may he mourn for him and for ....\n\n7. .... Kisu and Kharsak-kalama, may he mourn .....\n\n8. .... his .... Cutha ....\n\n9. .... Eridu? and Nipur ....\n\nThe rest of Column IV. is lost, and of the next column there are only\nremains of the first two lines.\n\n\nCOLUMN V.\n\n1. like a good prince who ....\n\n2. like ....\n\nHere there are about thirty lines missing, the story recommencing with\nColumn VI., which is perfect.\n\n\nCOLUMN VI.\n\n1. On a couch he reclines and\n\n2. pure water drinks.\n\n3. He who in battle is slain, thou seest and I see.\n\n4. His father (and) his mother (support) his head,\n\n5. (and) his wife addresses the corpse.\n\n6. His friends in the field (are standing),\n\n7. thou seest and I see.\n\n8. His spoil on the ground is uncovered,\n\n9. of his spoil he has no oversight.\n\n10. Thou seest and I see.\n\n11. His tender orphans long for bread; the food\n\n12. which in the tents is placed is eaten.\n    \u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013\u2014\n\n13. The twelfth tablet of the legends of Izdubar.\n\n14. Like the ancient copy written and made clear.\n\n[Illustration: XISUTHRUS OR NOAH AND IZDUBAR; FROM AN EARLY BABYLONIAN\nCYLINDER.]\n\nThis passage closes the great Epic of the ancient Chaldeans, which even\nin its present mutilated form is of the greatest importance in relation\nto the civilization, manners, and customs of that early people. The\nmain feature in this part of the Izdubar legends is the description of\nthe Flood in the eleventh tablet, which evidently refers to the same\nevent as the Flood of Noah in Genesis.\n\nThe episode of the Flood has been introduced into the Izdubar Epic\nin accordance with the principle upon which it has been formed. The\neleventh tablet or book answers to the sign of Aquarius and the month\ncalled \u201cthe rainy\u201d by the Accadians, and it was therefore rightly\noccupied by the story of the Flood. The compiler of the Epic seems to\nhave used for this purpose two independent poems relating to the event;\nat least it is otherwise difficult to account for the repetitions\nobservable in certain lines which sometimes differ slightly from one\nanother, as well as for certain inconsistencies which the skill of the\ncompiler has not been able entirely to remove. Thus according to I. 13,\nthe Deluge was caused by all \u201cthe great gods;\u201d according to II. 30, by\nSamas only; according to IV. 4, 5, by Bel. There is little doubt that\nmany independent versions of the history of the Deluge were current in\na poetical form; indeed, a fragment of one of these, containing the\noriginal Accadian text along with the Assyrian translation has been\npreserved, and the version found in Berosus differs in several notable\npoints from the version embodied in the great Chaldean Epic.\n\nThe fragment of the variant version of which the Accadian text has been\npreserved is as follows:\u2014\n\n1. .... then like a bowl of sacrificial wine the mountain ....\n\n2. .... country to country ran together.\n\n3. The female-slave to her mother (?) it had caused to ascend.\n\n4. The freeman from the house of his fecundity it had caused to go\nforth.\n\n5. The son from the house of his father it had caused to go forth\n\n6. The doves from their cotes had fled away.\n\n7. The raven on its wing it had caused to ascend.\n\n8. The swallow from his nest it had caused to depart.\n\n9. The oxen it had scattered, the lambs it had scattered.\n\n10. (It was) the great days when the evil spirits hunt.\n\n11. The universe they subjected unto themselves.\n\n12. Among the bricks of the foundations (they dealt destruction).\n\n13. The earth like a potsherd (they shattered).\n\n14. Bel and Beltis the supreme ones the mighty tablets (of destiny\nconsulted).\n\n15. The foot to the earth they did not (put).\n\n16. The highways of the earth they did not (tread).\n\nIf we compare the Babylonian account of the Deluge contained in the\nEpic with the account in Genesis we shall find some differences between\nthem; but if we consider the differences that existed between the two\ncountries of Palestine and Babylonia these variations do not appear\ngreater than we should expect. Chaldea was essentially a mercantile and\nmaritime country, well watered and flat, while Palestine was a hilly\nregion with no great rivers, and the Jews were shut out from the coast,\nthe maritime regions being mostly in the hands of the Philistines\nand Ph\u0153nicians. There was a total difference between the religious\nideas of the two peoples, the Jews believing in one God, the creator\nand lord of the Universe, while the Babylonians worshipped gods and\nlords many, every city having its local deity, and these being joined\nby complicated relations in a poetical mythology, which was in marked\ncontrast to the severe simplicity of the Jewish system. With such\ndifferences it was only natural that, in relating the same stories,\neach nation should colour them in accordance with its own ideas, and\nstress would naturally in each case be laid upon points with which they\nwere familiar. Thus we should expect beforehand that there would be\ndifferences in the narrative such as we actually find, and we may also\nnotice that the cuneiform account does not always coincide even with\nthe account of the same events given by Berosus from Chaldean sources,\nfrom which, as already observed, we may infer that there was more than\none version of the story of the Deluge current in Babylonia itself.\n\nThe great value of the inscriptions describing the Flood consists\nin the fact that they form an independent testimony to the Biblical\nnarrative at a much earlier date than any other evidence. The principal\npoints in the two narratives compared in their order will serve to show\nthe correspondences and differences between the two. It must, however,\nbe remembered that the Biblical narrative is composed of two different\naccounts of the Flood, generally known as the Elohistic and Jehovistic,\nand, as M. Lenormant has observed, it is with the union of the two in\nour present Hebrew text rather than with either one of them alone that\nthe Babylonian version corresponds. The repetitions observable in the\nHebrew text are not to be found in the cuneiform text.\n\n                                             Genesis:          Babylonian\n                                     Elohist.     Jehovist.     Account.\n\n   1. Announcement of the\n      Deluge                       vi. 11-13.      vi. 5-8.    i. 12-23.\n   2. Command to build the\n      ark                          vi. 14-16.                  i. 20-27.\n   3. What was to enter the\n      ark                          vi. 19-21.    vii. 2, 3.    i. 41-43.\n   4. Size of the ark             vi. 15, 16.                 i. 25, 26.\n   5. Speech of Xisuthrus                                      i. 45-52.\n   6. The building of the ark         vi. 22.       vii. 5.    ii. 2-24.\n   7. The coating within and\n      without with bitumen.           vi. 14.                ii. 10, 11.\n   8. Food taken in the ark.          vi. 21.                 ii. 12-20.\n   9. The coming of the Flood     vii. 10-12.      vii. 10.  ii. 14, &c.\n  10. Destruction of the people  vii. 21, 22.      vii. 23.   iii. 2-15.\n  11. Duration of the Deluge     vii. 12, 24.      vii. 17.  iii. 19-21.\n  12. Assuaging of the waters        viii. 1.      viii. 2.  iii. 21-23.\n  13. Opening of window                            viii. 6.     iii. 27.\n  14. Ark rests on a mountain        viii. 4.                iii. 33-36.\n  15. Sending forth of the birds                 viii. 6-12.  iii. 38-44.\n  16. Order to leave the ark     viii. 15-17.\n  17. Leaving the ark           viii. 18, 19.                   iii. 45.\n  18. Building the altar and\n      sacrifice                                   viii. 20.  iii. 46-48.\n  19. The savour of the offering                  viii. 21.     iii. 49.\n  20. A deluge not to happen\n      again                          ix. 11.  viii. 21, 22.   iv. 15-20.\n  21. The Covenant                 ix. 9-11.                     iv. 26.\n  22. The rainbow a pledge of\n      the covenant                ix. 13-17.                iii. 51, 52.\n  23. The Deluge caused by the\n      sin of men                 vi. 11-13.       vi. 5-7.  iv. 14, 15.\n  24. Noah saved by his\n      righteousness                           vi. 8., vii.   1. iv. 16.\n  25. The translation of the\n      patriarch (in Genesis of\n      Enoch)                          v. 24.                  iv. 28-30.\n\nOne of the first points that strike us on comparing the Biblical and\ncuneiform accounts together is that they both agree in representing\nthe Flood as a punishment for the sins of mankind. This agreement is\nrendered remarkable by the absence of such a moral cause in the legends\nof a deluge current among other nations; it is wanting even in the\nversion of the Babylonian account given by Berosus. Equally remarkable\nis the agreement of the two accounts in the narrative of the sending\nforth of the birds, two of which, the raven and the dove, are the same\nin both. Some of the actual phrases and words found in Genesis are also\nfound in the cuneiform tablet; though sometimes they are modified, as\nwhen Genesis says of the entrance of Noah into the ark: \u201cThe Lord shut\nhim in;\u201d whereas in the Babylonian narrative the closing of the door is\nascribed to Xisuthrus himself.\n\nPositive discrepancies, however, occur between the two records.\nThus they differ as regards the size of the ark. According to the\ncuneiform account, its length and breadth were in the proportion of\nten to one and the height and breadth were the same; but the Bible\nmakes the proportion as six to one, and describes the height as being\nthirty cubits and the breadth fifty. The version of the story given by\nBerosus, on the other hand, agrees in this matter neither with Genesis\nnor with the tablet from Erech. It measures the ark by stadia and not\nby cubits, makes the proportion of its length and breadth as five to\ntwo, and says nothing of the height.\n\nAnother difference may be found in the description of the patriarch\nwho escapes the Flood. Xisuthrus is a king who enters the ark with\nhis servants, people, and pilot, while in the Bible only Noah and his\nfamily are saved. So, too, no reference is made in the Babylonian\naccount to the distinction between the clean and unclean animals\nmentioned by the Jehovist, though seven was a sacred number among the\nBabylonians. The most remarkable difference, however, between the\ntwo accounts is with respect to the duration of the Deluge. On this\npoint the inscription gives seven days for the Flood, and seven days\nfor the resting of the ark on the mountain, while the Elohist puts\nthe commencement of the Flood on the 17th day of the second month\n(Marchesvan) and its termination on the 27th day of the second month\nin the following year, making a total duration of one lunar year and\neleven days. This exactly accords with the climatic conditions of\nBabylonia, where the rains begin at the end of November. The Euphrates\nand Tigris then begin to rise, the country is inundated in March, the\nseventh month of the Hebrew narrative, and from the end of May onwards\nthe waters go down. According to the Jehovist, however, the Deluge is\nannounced to Noah only seven days before it takes place; the waters are\nat their height for forty days and then decrease during another forty\ndays, after which the patriarch sends out the birds at intervals of\nseven days, so that it was not till twenty-one days after he has first\nopened the window that he finally leaves the ark. This is in practical\nagreement with the cuneiform account, since seven was a sacred number\namong the Babylonians just as forty is in the Old Testament. As M.\nLenormant points out, the date of the 15th of D\u00e6sius (or May) given\nby Berosus must be due to a scribe\u2019s error, since this would place\nthe Flood at a time when the waters were going down. There is again\na difference as to the mountain on which the ark rested; Nizir, the\nplace mentioned in the cuneiform text, being east of Assyria, and\nits mountain, also called \u201cthe mountain of the world\u201d where the gods\nwere supposed to dwell, being the present peak of Elwend, while the\nmountains of Ararat mentioned in the Bible were north of Assyria, near\nLake Van. It is evident that different traditions have placed the\nmountain of the ark in totally different positions, and there is not\npositive proof as to which is the earlier traditionary spot. The word\nArarat is connected with a word _Urdhu_, meaning \u201chighland,\u201d and might\nbe a general term for any part of the hilly country to the north-east\nof Assyria.\n\nIt is interesting to find references in the Jehovistic account to\nthe sacred Babylonian number seven and the seven-day week. Just as\nXisuthrus set vessels by sevens on the altar of sacrifice, so Noah\noffered clean beasts and fowls which had been taken by sevens into\nthe ark. And the narrative of the sending-out of the birds contains a\nclear reference to the seven-day week, which was known from very early\ntimes to the Accadians, who had named each day after one of the seven\nplanets. The Sabbath also, which occurred on the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st\nand 28th days of the lunar month, was rigorously observed by them.\nThey called it \u201ca day of completion of labours,\u201d or \u201ca day unlawful\nto work upon,\u201d and a sort of saints\u2019 calendar for the month of the\nintercalatory Elul says that upon it \u201cthe shepherd of many peoples\nmay not eat the flesh of _birds_ (?) or cooked fruit. The garments of\nhis body he must not change. White robes he may not put on. Sacrifice\nhe may not offer. The king in his chariot may not ride. He may not\nlegislate in royal fashion. A place of garrison the general by word\nof mouth may not appoint. Medicine for the sickness of the body one\nmay not apply.\u201d The very word _Sabattu_ or Sabbath was used by the\nAssyrians, and a bilingual tablet explains it as \u201ca day of rest for the\nheart.\u201d\n\nOne striking difference between the descriptions of the Deluge given\nin the Old Testament and in the Epic of Izdubar is due to the fact\nthat the Hebrews were an inland people, whereas the Accadians were a\nmaritime, or rather fluviatile one. Hence it is that while the ark\nis called in the Babylonian version \u201ca ship,\u201d it is called _t\u00eab\u00e2h_,\nthat is, \u201ca coffer\u201d in Genesis. In Genesis, too, nothing is said about\nlaunching the ark, testing its seaworthiness, or entrusting it to a\npilot. However, the narrative in Genesis preserves a recollection of\nthe bitumen for which the Babylonian plain was famous, and like the\ncuneiform narrative states that the ark was pitched.\n\nSome of the other differences observable in the two accounts are\nevidently due to the opposite religious systems of the two countries,\nbut there is again a curious point in connection with the close of the\nChaldean legend: this is the translation of the hero of the Flood.\n\nIn the Book of Genesis it is not Noah but the seventh patriarch Enoch\nwho is translated, three generations before the Flood.\n\nThere appears to have been some connection or confusion between Enoch\nand Noah in ancient tradition; both are holy men, and Enoch is said,\nlike Noah, to have predicted the Flood.\n\nIt is a curious fact that the dynasty of gods, with which Egyptian\nmythical history commences, resembles in some respects the list of\nantediluvian kings of Babylonia given by Berosus as well as the list of\nantediluvian patriarchs in Genesis.\n\nThis dynasty has sometimes seven, sometimes ten reigns, and in the\nTurin Papyrus of kings, which gives ten reigns, there is the same name\nfor the seventh and tenth kings, both being called Horus, and the\nseventh king is stated to have reigned 300 years, which is the length\nof life of the seventh patriarch Enoch after the birth of his son.\n\nHere are the three lists of Egyptian gods, Hebrew patriarchs, and\nChaldean kings.\n\n  Egypt.    Patriarchs.    Chaldean Kings.\n  Ptah.        Adam.          Alorus.\n  Ra.          Seth.          Alaparus.\n  Su.          Enos.          Almelon.\n  Seb.         Cainan.        Ammenon.\n  Hosiri.      Mahalaleel.    Amegalarus.\n  Set.         Jared.         Daonus. (Dun in the inscriptions.)\n  Hor.         Enoch.         \u00c6dorachus.\n  Tut.         Methuselah.    Amempsin.\n  Ma.          Lamech.        Otiartes (Opartes).\n  Hor.         Noah.          Xisuthrus.\n\nIt is well known that Enos, like Adam, signifies \u201cman;\u201d hence some\nwriters have supposed that the list of Noah\u2019s ancestors was originally\ncounted from Enos, so that Lamech, Noah\u2019s father, would have been the\nseventh in descent. There is, moreover, a curious resemblance between\nthe names of the descendants of Seth and those of the descendants of\nCain, Methuselah, indeed, being apparently more correctly written\nMethusael (Gen. iv. 18), which is the Assyrian _Mutu-sa-ili_, \u201cMan of\nGod.\u201d Now Lamech, the descendant of Cain, is the seventh from Adam.\nIt may be noticed that Irad or Jared is the same word as the Assyrian\n_Arad_, \u201cservant,\u201d and _Arad_ or _Ardutu_ is the Assyrian rendering\nof the Accadian Ubara, the first part of the name of the father of\nXisuthrus, who is actually called Ardates by Abydenus.\n\nMr. George Smith believed that the real connection between the\ntraditions of Babylonia and Palestine would never be cleared up until\nthe literature of the Syrian population which intervened is recovered.\nIt is very possible that light may be thrown upon the question by the\nexcavations now being made at Jerablus, the site of Carchemish, the\ncapital of the ancient Hittites. Terah may be the same word as Tarkhu,\nwho seems to have been worshipped as a god by the Hittites; and Lucian\nhas preserved a legend of the Flood and the patriarch Sisythes, who\nis evidently the Xisuthrus of the Babylonians, which was current\nat Hierapolis or Mabug, a little to the south of Jerablus. In this\nlegend the ark has become a coffer, Sisythes and his family are alone\npreserved, and the Flood was sent to punish the wickedness of mankind.\n\nThere is one point which still deserves notice: these traditions are\nnot fixed to any localities in or near Palestine, but even on the\nshowing of the Jews themselves, belong to the neighbourhood of the\nEuphrates valley, and Babylonia in particular; this of course is\nclearly stated in the Babylonian inscriptions and traditions.\n\nEden, according even to the Jews, was by the Euphrates and Tigris;\nthe cities of Babylon, Larancha, and Sippara were supposed by the\nBabylonians to have been founded before the Flood. Surippak was\nthe city of the ark, the mountains east of the Tigris were the\nresting-place of the ark, Babylon was the site of the tower, and Ur of\nthe Chaldees the birthplace of Abraham. These facts and the further\nstatement that Abraham, the father and first leader of the Hebrew race,\nmigrated from Ur to Harran in Syria, and from thence to Palestine,\nare all so much evidence in favour of the hypothesis that Chaldea was\nthe original home of these stories, and that the Jews received them\noriginally from the Babylonians; but on the other hand there are such\nstriking differences in some parts of the legends, particularly in the\nnames of the patriarchs before the Flood, that it is evident further\ninformation is required before we can determine how or when they were\nreceived by the Jews.\n\nTo pass, now, to the twelfth tablet of the Izdubar Epic, a curious\nfragment has been provisionally placed by Mr. Smith in the fourth\ncolumn, in which Izdubar appears to call on his cities to mourn with\nhim for his friend. This tablet is remarkable for the number of cities\nmentioned as already existing in the time of Izdubar. Combining this\nnotice with other early inscriptions, the statements of Berosus and the\nnotice of the cities of Nimrod in Genesis, we get the following list of\nthe oldest known cities in the Euphrates valley:\u2014\n\n   1. Babylon and its suburb\n   2. Borsippa.\n   3. Cutha.\n   4. Larsa.\n   5. Surippak, called Larancha by Berosus.\n   6. Eridu.\n   7. Nipur.\n   8. Erech.\n   9. Calneh.\n  10. Sippara. (Sepharvaim.)\n  11. Kisu (or Kis).\n  12. Ganganna.\n  13. Amarda or Marad.\n  14. Ur\n  15. Nisin or Karrak.\n  16. Agan\u00e9.\n  17. Duban or Duran.\n  18. Abnunna or Mullias.\n  19. Zirghul.\n\nTo these we may also add the great cities of Assyria:\u2014\n\n  20. Assur, the primitive capital.\n  21. Ninua or Nineveh.\n  22. Calah.\n  23. Resen (Assyrian Res-eni, \u201cthe head of the spring.\u201d)\n\n\nSo far as the various statements go, all these cities and probably many\nothers were in existence in the time of Nimrod, and some of them even\nbefore the Flood; the fact that the Babylonians four thousand years ago\nbelieved their cities to be of such antiquity, shows that they were not\nrecent foundations, and the attainments of the people at that time in\nthe arts and sciences prove that their civilization had already known\nages of progress. The legendary epoch of Izdubar must be considered at\npresent as the commencement of the united monarchy in Babylonia, and\nas marking the first of the series of great conquests in Western Asia;\nbut how far back we have to go from our earliest known monuments to\nreach this era we cannot now tell.\n\nEvery nation has its hero, and it was only natural that when the\nAccadian kings of Ur at last succeeded in establishing an united empire\nthroughout Babylonia, the legends of the national hero should be\ncoloured by the new conception of imperial unity.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[28] This last sentence is found only in the fragment discovered by Mr.\nRassam.\n\n[29] Or: He then intelligently.\n\n[30] The fragment brought to England by Mr. Rassam reads 6.\n\n[31] The word used here is _ziggurrat_, which is employed to denote the\ntowers attached to Babylonian temples. These towers were commonly used\nas observatories.\n\n[32] Bricks have been found at Warka or Erech bearing the name of a\ncertain king Sin-kudur, who calls himself the son of this same goddess,\nand describes himself as the builder of the temple of Anu at Erech.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n Notices of Genesis.\u2014Correspondence of names.\u2014Abram.\u2014Ur of\n Chaldees.\u2014Ishmael.\u2014Sargon of Agan\u00e9.\u2014His birth.\u2014Concealed\n in ark.\u2014Creation.\u2014Garden of Eden.\u2014Oannes.\u2014Berosus.\u2014Izdubar\n legends.\u2014Babylonian seals.\u2014Egyptian names.\u2014Assyrian sculptures.\n\n\nScattered through various cuneiform inscriptions are other notices,\nnames, or passages, connected with the Book of Genesis. Although\nthe names of the Genesis patriarchs are not in the inscriptions\nwhich give the history of the mythical period, nevertheless some of\nthe patriarchal names of Genesis are found here and there in the\ninscriptions.\n\nThe name Adam is in the Creation legends, but only in a general\nsense as man, as in Gen. i. 26, 27, 28.; v. 1, not as a proper name.\nSeveral of the other names of antediluvian patriarchs correspond with\nBabylonian words and roots, such as Methusael (Gen. iv. 18), which is\nthe Assyrian _mutu-sa-ili_, \u201cman of God,\u201d and has been changed into\nMethuselah (Gen. v. 21) in order to assimilate it to the genius of\nthe Hebrew language, or Noah, the Assyrian nukhu, \u201crest;\u201d but, besides\nthese, certain names appear as proper names also in Babylonia, among\nthem Cainan, Lamech, and Laban.\n\nCainan is found as the name of a Babylonian town Kan-nan; the\ninhabitants of which were sometimes called Kanunai, which must not be\nconfounded with the name of the Canaanites or \u201clowlanders,\u201d originally\nthe inhabitants of the coastland of Ph\u0153nicia and then, by extension, of\nall Palestine.\n\nLamech has already been pointed out by Palmer (\u201cEgyptian Chronicles,\u201d\nvol. i.\u202fp. 56), in the name of the deified Ph\u0153nician patriarch Diamich;\nthis name is found in the cuneiform texts as Dumugu and Lamga, two\nforms of the Accadian name of the moon.\n\nThe two wives of Lamech, Adah and Zillah, seem to be the Assyrian\n_edhutu_ or _edhatu_ \u201cdarkness,\u201d and _tsillatu_ \u201cthe shades of night;\u201d\nand the names of his two sons Jabal and Jubal are but varying forms\nof the Assyrian _abil_ \u201cson.\u201d Dr. Oppert long ago pointed out that\nthis Assyrian word was the origin of the name Abel which has been\nassimilated in spelling to a Hebrew word signifying \u201cmere breath.\u201d\n\nSome of the names of the patriarchs after the Flood are found as names\nof towns in Syria, but not in Babylonia; among these are Reu or Ragu,\nSerug, and Harran.\n\nLaban, on the other hand, as was first noticed by Dr. Delitzsch, is\nmentioned in a list of gods given in a cuneiform tablet (published in\nthe \u201cCuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,\u201d iii. 66, 6.)\n\n[Illustration: MUGHEIR, THE SITE OF UR OF THE CHALDEES.]\n\nThe name of Abramu or Abram is found in the Assyrian inscriptions in\nthe time of Esarhaddon. After the captivity of the ten tribes, some of\nthe Israelites prospered in Assyria, and rose to positions of trust\nin the empire. Abram was one of these, he was sukulu rabu or \u201cgreat\nattendant\u201d of Esarhaddon, and was eponym in Assyria, B.C. 677. Various\nother Hebrew names are found in Assyria about this time, including\nPekah, Hoshea, and several compounded with the two Divine names\nElohim and Jehovah, showing that both these names were in use among\nthe Israelites. The presence of proper names founded on the Genesis\nstories, like Abram, and the use at this time of these forms of the\nDivine name, should be taken into consideration in discussing the\nevidence of the antiquity of Genesis.\n\nUr, now represented by the mounds of Mugheir, on the western bank of\nthe Euphrates to the south of Babylon, was the capital of the earliest\nAccadian dynasty with which we are acquainted. It was specially devoted\nto the worship of the moon-god, the ruins of whose temple have been\ndiscovered there. Ur was the birthplace of Abraham, in whom we must\nsee one of those Semitic intruders who settled among the Accadians,\nand after adopting their culture and civilization finally succeeded\nin overcoming and supplanting them. It is probable that it is called\n_Ur Casdim_, \u201cUr of the Casdim,\u201d in Genesis only proleptically, since\nCasdim appears to be the representative of an Assyrian word meaning\n\u201cconquerors\u201d\u2014a suitable epithet for the Semitic tribes after their\nconquest of Babylonia. The Greek names Chaldean and Chaldea are of much\nlater date, being derived from the Kaldai, a small tribe settled on the\nPersian Gulf and first mentioned in the ninth century B.C., who under\nMerodach-Baladan (B.C. 721-709) possessed themselves of Babylonia and\nbecame so integral a portion of its inhabitants as to give their name\nto the whole of them in classical times.\n\nSome of the Genesis names are found at a comparatively early date, the\nfirst which appears on a contemporary monument being Ishmael. In the\nreign of Khammuragas among the witnesses to some documents at Larsa in\nBabylonia, appears a man named \u201cAbuha son of Ishmael.\u201d\n\nAfter the time of Abraham the book of Genesis is concerned with the\naffairs of Palestine, and of the countries in its immediate vicinity,\nand it has no connection with Babylonian history and traditions;\nhowever, the cuneiform records contain one story which has a striking\nlikeness to that of Moses in the ark, and which, although not within\nthe period covered by Genesis, is of great interest in connection with\nthe early history of the Jews.\n\nSargina or Sargon I. was a Babylonian monarch who reigned in the city\nof Agan\u00e9 about B.C. 1800. The name of Sargon signifies the right, true,\nor legitimate king, and may have been assumed on his ascending the\nthrone. Sargon was probably of obscure origin, and hence the myth that\nattached itself to him in later popular belief. This curious story is\nfound on fragments of tablets from Kouyunjik, and reads as follows:\n\n1. Sargina the powerful king the king of Agan\u00e9 am I.\n\n2. My mother was a princess, my father I did not know, a brother of my\nfather chose the mountains.\n\n3. In the city of Azupiranu which by the side of the river Euphrates is\nsituated\n\n4. (my) mother the princess conceived me; in an inaccessible place she\nbrought me forth.\n\n5. She placed me in a basket of rushes, with bitumen my exit she sealed\nup.\n\n6. She launched me on the river which did not drown me.\n\n7. The river carried me, to Akki the irrigator it brought me.\n\n8. Akki the irrigator in tenderness of bowels lifted me up;\n\n9. Akki the irrigator as his child brought me up,\n\n10. Akki the irrigator as his woodman set me,\n\n11. and in my woodmanship Istar loved me.\n\n12. 45? years the kingdom I ruled,\n\n13. the people of the black heads I governed, I ..\n\n14. over rugged countries in many chariots of bronze I rode,\n\n15. I governed the upper countries,\n\n16. I ruled? over the chiefs of the lower countries.\n\n17. To the sea coast three times I advanced, Dilvun (in the Persian\nGulf) submitted,\n\n18. Durankigal bowed, &c. &c.\n\nAfter this follows an address to any king who should at a later time\nnotice the inscription.\n\nThis myth is but a repetition of the oft-told story, how the hero of\nnoble birth is born in secret, is exposed to death, but is rescued and\nbrought up in a humble sphere of life until the time comes when his\ntrue origin and character are revealed, and he becomes a mighty prince\nand conqueror. The legend was told of Perseus in Greece, of Romulus in\nItaly, of Cyrus in Persia. But just as Cyrus was a real personage upon\nwhom the legend was fastened, so too Sargon was a real personage, who\nfounded the great library of Agan\u00e9, and extended his conquests as far\nas the island of Cyprus, which he conquered in the third year of his\nreign.\n\nThe most hazardous of the theories put forward in the preceding\nchapters is the one which identifies Izdubar with Nimrod, and makes him\nreign in the legendary period of Babylonian history. This theory is\nfounded on several plausible, but probably merely superficial grounds;\nand if any one accepts Mr. Smith\u2019s view on the point, it will be only\nfor similar reasons to those which caused him to propose it; namely,\nbecause, failing this, we have no clue whatever to the age and position\nof the most famous hero in Oriental tradition.\n\nWe must never lose sight of the fact that, apart from the more perfect\nand main parts of these texts, both in the decipherment of the broken\nfragments and in the various theories projected respecting them, the\nAssyrian scholar must change his opinions many times, and no doubt any\naccession of new material would change again our views respecting the\nparts affected by it. These theories and conclusions, however, although\nnot always correct, have, on their way, assisted the inquiry, and have\nled to the more accurate knowledge of the texts; for certainly in\ncuneiform matters we have often had to advance through error to truth.\n\nIn adopting Mr. Smith\u2019s theory for the position of Nimrod, one thing\nis certainly clear: he is placed as low in the chronology as it is\npossible to make him.\n\nThe stories and myths given in the foregoing pages have, probably,\nvery different values; some are genuine traditions\u2014some compiled to\naccount for natural phenomena, and some pure romances. At the head of\ntheir history and traditions the Babylonians placed an account of the\ncreation of the world; and, although different forms of this story were\ncurrent, in certain features they all agreed. Beside the account of the\npresent animals, they related the creation of legions of monster forms\nwhich disappeared before the human epoch, and they accounted for the\ngreat problem of humanity\u2014the presence of evil in the world\u2014by making\nout that it proceeded from the original chaos, the spirit of confusion\nand darkness, which was the origin of all things, and which was even\nolder than the gods.\n\nThe principal story of the Creation, given in Chapter V., substantially\nagrees, as far as it is preserved, with the Biblical account. According\nto it, there was a chaos of watery matter before the Creation, and from\nthis all things were generated.\n\nWe have then a considerable blank, the contents of which we can only\nconjecture, and after this we come to the creation of the heavenly orbs.\n\nThe fifth tablet in the series relates how God created the\nconstellations of the stars, the signs of the zodiac, the planets\nand other stars, the moon and the sun. After another blank we have a\nfragment which relates to the creation of wild and domestic animals;\nit is curious here that the original taming of domestic animals was\neven then so far back in the history of the race that all knowledge of\nit was lost, and the \u201canimals of the city,\u201d or domestic animals, were\nconsidered different creations from the \u201canimals of the desert,\u201d or\n\u201cfield,\u201d or wild animals.\n\nWe next come to the war between the dragon and powers of evil, or\nchaos, on one side and the gods on the other. The gods have weapons\nforged for them, and Merodach undertakes to lead the heavenly host\nagainst the dragon. The war, which is described with spirit, ends of\ncourse in the triumph of the principle of good, and the overthrow of\nprimeval anarchy.\n\nIn Chapter V. another account of the Creation is given which differs\nmaterially from the first. The principal feature in the second account\nis the description of the eagle-headed men with their family of\nleaders\u2014this legend clearly showing the origin of the eagle-headed\nfigures represented on the Assyrian sculptures.\n\nIt is probable that some of these Babylonian legends contained detailed\ndescriptions of the Garden of Eden, which seems to have been the\ndistrict of Eridu in the south of Babylonia, as Sir Henry Rawlinson\nbelieves.\n\nThere are coincidences in respect to the geography of the region and\nits name which render the identification very probable; of the four\nrivers in each case, two, the Euphrates and Tigris, are identical;\nthen, again, the known fertility of the region, its name sometimes\nGan-duni, so similar to Gan-eden (the Garden of Eden), and other\nconsiderations, all tend towards the view that it is the Paradise of\nGenesis.\n\nThere are evidences of the belief in the tree of life, which is one\nof the most common emblems on the seals and larger sculptures, and is\neven used as an ornament on dresses; a sacred tree is also several\ntimes mentioned in the legends and hymns, but at present there is no\ndirect connection known between the tree and the Fall, although the gem\nengravings render it very probable that there was a legend of this kind\nlike the one in Genesis.\n\nIn the history of Berosus mention is made of a composite being, half\nman, half fish, named Oannes, who was supposed to have appeared out\nof the sea and to have taught the Babylonians all their learning. The\nBabylonian and Assyrian sculptures have made us familiar with the\nfigure of Oannes, and have so far given evidence that Berosus has truly\ndescribed this mythological figure; but it is a curious fact that the\nlegend of Oannes, which must have been one of the Babylonian stories\nof the Creation, has not yet been recovered. In fact, as previously\nnoticed (p. 12), there is only one fragment which can be at all\nreferred to it, and this has been accidentally preserved among a series\nof extracts from various Accadian works in a bilingual reading-book\ncompiled for the use of Assyrian students of Accadian. The fragment is\nas follows:\u2014\n\n[Illustration: OANNES. FROM NIMROUD SCULPTURE.]\n\n1. To the waters their god\n\n2. has returned:\n\n3. to the house of bright things\n\n4. he descended (as) an icicle:\n\n5. on a seat of snow\n\n6. he grew not old in wisdom.\n\nThe legend of Oannes, whose name may possibly be the Accadian Hea-khan,\n\u201cHea the fish,\u201d concerned the Babylonians only, and so did not interest\nthe Assyrians, who did not care to have it in their libraries.\n\nBesides the legend of Oannes, however, there are evidently many stories\nof early times still unknown, or only known by mere fragments or\nallusions.\n\nThe fables given in Chapter IX. form a series quite different in\ncharacter from the legends, and the only excuse for inserting them\nhere is the need of exhibiting as clearly and fully as possible the\nliterature of the great epoch which produced the Genesis tablets.\n\nMost of the other stories apparently relate to the great period before\nthe Flood, when celestial visitors came to and from the earth, and the\ninhabitants of the world were very distinctly divided into the good and\nbad, but the stories are only fables with a moral attached, and have\nlittle connection with Babylonian history.\n\nTwo of these stories are very curious, and may hereafter turn out to be\nof great importance; one is the story of the sin committed by the god\nZu, and the other the story of Atarpi.\n\nBerosus in his history has given an account of ten Chaldean kings who\nreigned before the Flood, and the close of this period is well known\nfrom the descriptions of the Deluge in the Bible, the Deluge tablet,\nand the work of the Greek writer. According to Berosus several of the\nBabylonian cities were built before the Flood, and various arts were\nknown, including writing. The enormous reigns given by Berosus to\nhis ten kings, making a total of 432,000 years, force us to discard\nthe idea that the details are historical, although there may be some\nfoundation for his statement of a civilization before the Deluge.\nThe details given in the inscriptions describing the Flood leave no\ndoubt that both the Bible and the Babylonian story describe the same\nevent, and the Flood becomes the starting-point for the modern world\nin both histories. According to Berosus 86 kings reigned for 34,080\nyears after the Flood down to the Median conquest. If these kings are\nhistorical, it is doubtful if they formed a continuous line, and they\ncould scarcely cover a longer period than 2,000 years. The Median or\nElamite conquest took place about B.C. 2700, and, if we allow the round\nnumber 2,000 years for the previous period, it will make the Flood fall\nabout B.C. 4700. In a fragmentary inscription with a list of Babylonian\nkings, some names are given which appear to belong to the 86 kings\nof Berosus, but our information about this period is so scanty that\nnothing can be said about this dynasty, and a suggestion as to the\ndate of the Deluge must be received with more than the usual grain of\nsalt.\n\nWe can see, however, that there was a civilized race in Babylonia\nbefore the Median Conquest, the progress of which must have received\na rude shock when the country was overrun by the uncivilized Eastern\nborderers.\n\nAmong the fragmentary notices of this semi-mythical period is the\nportion of the inscription describing the building of the Tower of\nBabel and the dispersion.\n\nIt is probable from the fragments of Berosus that the incursions and\ndominion of the Median Elamites lasted about two hundred years, during\nwhich the country suffered greatly from them.\n\nThe legends of Izdubar or Nimrod commence with a description of the\nevils brought upon Babylonia by foreign invasion, the conquest and\nsacking of the city of Erech being one of the incidents in the story.\nIzdubar, a famous hunter, who claimed descent from a long line of\nkings, reaching up to the time of the Flood, now comes forward; he has\na dream, and after much trouble a half-human creature named Hea-bani\nis persuaded by Zaidu, the hunter, and two females, to come to Erech\nand interpret the dream of Izdubar. Hea-bani, having heard the fame\nof Izdubar, brings to Erech a midannu or tiger to test his strength,\nand Izdubar slays it. After these things, Izdubar and Hea-bani become\nfriends, and, having invoked the gods, they start to attack the tyrant\nKhumbaba. Khumbaba dwelt in a thick forest, surrounded by a wall, and\nhere he was visited by the two friends, who slew him and carried off\nhis spoils.\n\nIzdubar was now proclaimed king, and extended his authority over the\nBabylonian world, his court and palace being at Erech. The goddess\nIstar, daughter of Anu according to one myth, of Bel according to\nanother, of Sin, the moon god, according to a third, who had loved the\nshepherd Tammuz, the Sun-god, fell in love with Izdubar. He refused her\noffers, and the goddess, angry at his answer, ascended to heaven and\npetitioned her father Anu to create a bull for her, to be an instrument\nof her vengeance. Anu complied, and created the bull, on which Izdubar\nand Hea-bani collected a band of warriors and went against it. Hea-bani\ntook hold of the animal by its head and tail, while Izdubar slew it.\n\nIstar on this cursed Izdubar, and descended to Hades to attempt once\nmore to summon unearthly powers against the hero. She descends to the\ninfernal regions, which are vividly described, and, passing through\ntheir seven gates, is ushered into the presence of the queen of the\ndead. The world of love goes wrong in the absence of Istar, and on the\npetition of the gods she is once more brought to the earth, ultimately\nAnatu, her mother, satisfying her vengeance by striking Izdubar with a\nloathsome disease.\n\nHea-bani, the friend of Izdubar, is now killed, and Izdubar, mourning\nhis double affliction, abandons his kingdom and wanders into the desert\nto seek the advice of Xisuthrus his ancestor, who had been translated\nfor his piety and now dwelt with the gods.\n\nIzdubar now had a dream, and after this wandered to the region where\ngigantic composite monsters held and controlled the rising and setting\nsun: from these he learned the road to the region of the blessed,\nand, passing across a great waste of sand, arrived at a region where\nsplendid trees were laden with jewels instead of fruit.\n\nIzdubar then met two females, named Siduri and Sabitu, after an\nadventure with whom he found a boatman named Nes-Hea, who undertook to\nnavigate him to the region where Xisuthrus dwelt.\n\nComing near the dwelling of the blessed, he found it surrounded by the\nwaters of death, which he had to cross in order to reach the land of\nwhich he was in search.\n\nOn arriving at the other side, Izdubar was met by Mu-seri-ina-namari,\n\u201cthe waters of dawn at daybreak,\u201d who engaged him in conversation about\nHea-bani, and then Xisuthrus, taking up the conversation, described\nto him the Deluge. Izdubar was afterwards cured of his illness and\nreturned with Nes-Hea to Erech, where he mourned anew for his friend\nHea-bani, and on intercession with the gods the ghost of Hea-bani arose\nfrom the ground where the body had lain.\n\nThe details of this story, and especially the accounts of the regions\ninhabited by the dead, are very striking, and illustrate, in a\nwonderful manner, the religious views of the people.\n\nIt is worth while here to pause, and consider the evidence of the\nexistence of the legends recounted in the preceding pages from the\nclose of the mythical period down to the seventh century B.C.\n\nWe have first the seals: of these there are some hundreds in European\nmuseums, and among the earliest are many specimens carved with scenes\nfrom the Genesis legends; some of these are a good deal older than B.C.\n2000, others may be ranged at various dates down to B.C. 1500.\n\nWith three exceptions, which are of Assyrian origin, all the seals\nengraved in the present volume are Babylonian. One very fine and early\nexample is photographed as the frontispiece of the book. The character\nand style of the cuneiform legend which accompanies this shows it to\nbe one of the most ancient specimens; it is engraved on a hard jasper\ncylinder in bold style, and is a remarkable example of early Babylonian\nart. Many other similar cylinders of the same period are known; the\nrelief on them is bolder than on the later seals, on which from about\nB.C. 1600 or 1700, a change in the inscriptions becomes general.\n\nThe numerous illustrations to the present work, which have been\ncollected from these early Babylonian seals, will serve to show that\nthe legends were well known, and formed part of the literature of the\ncountry before the second millennium B.C.\n\nAfter B.C. 1500, the literature of Babylonia is unknown, and we lose\nsight of all evidence of its legends for some centuries. In the\nmeantime Egypt supplies a few notices bearing on the subject, which\nserve to show that knowledge of them was still kept up. Nearly thirteen\nhundred years before the Christian era one of the Egyptian poems likens\na hero to the Assyrian chief, Kazartu, a great hunter. Kazartu probably\nmeans a \u201cstrong\u201d or \u201cpowerful\u201d one, and it has already been suggested\nthat the reference is to the hero Nimrod. A little later, in the period\nextending from B.C. 1000 to 800, we have in Egypt several persons named\nNamurot, which seems to be an echo of the name of the mighty hunter.\n\nOn the revival of the Assyrian empire, about B.C. 990, we come again to\nnumerous references to the Genesis legends, and these continue through\nalmost every reign down to the close of the empire. The Assyrians\ncarved the sacred tree and cherubim on their walls, they depicted\nin the temples the struggle between Merodach and the dragon, they\ndecorated their portals with the figure of Izdubar strangling a lion,\nand carved the struggles of Izdubar and Hea-bani with the lion and the\nbull even on their stone vases.\n\nJust as the sculptures of the Greek temples, the paintings on the vases\nand the carving on their gems were taken from their myths and legends,\nso the series of myths and legends belonging to the valley of the\nEuphrates furnished materials for the sculptor, the engraver, and the\npainter, among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians.\n\nIn this way we have continued evidence of the existence of these\nlegends down to the time of Assur-bani-pal, B.C. 673 to 626, who caused\nthe present known copies to be made for his library at Nineveh.\n\nSearch in Babylonia would, no doubt, yield much earlier copies of\nall these works, but that search has not yet been instituted, and\nfor the present we have to be contented with our Assyrian copies.\nLooking, however, at the world-wide interest of the subjects, and\nat the important evidence which perfect copies of these works would\nundoubtedly give, there can be no doubt that further progress will be\nmade in research and discovery, and that all that is here written will\none day be superseded by newer texts and fuller and more perfect light.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n  Abel, 316.\n\n  Abram, 317.\n\n  Abydenus, 40.\n\n  Accad or Akkad, 20.\n\n  Adam, 83, 315.\n\n  Adrakhasis, 288.\n\n  Agan\u00e9, 313.\n\n  Age of documents, 21.\n\n  Alaparus, 39.\n\n  Alexander Polyhistor, 32, 43.\n\n  Alexander the Great, 1.\n\n  Alorus, 39, 40, 187.\n\n  Amarda, 313.\n\n  Amempsin, 40.\n\n  Amillarus, 40.\n\n  Ammenon, 41.\n\n  Anatu, 49.\n\n  Anementus, 41.\n\n  Animals, creation of, 71.\n\n  Antiquity of legends, 22.\n\n  Anu, 48, 49, 108, 120.\n\n  Anus, 44.\n\n  Apason, 43.\n\n  Apollodorus, 39.\n\n  Ararat, 307.\n\n  Ardates, 36, 311.\n\n  Arioch, 172.\n\n  Ark, 42, 280, 281, 309, 319.\n\n  Armenia, 42.\n\n  Arnold, Mr. E., 6.\n\n  Arrangement of tablets, 14, 15.\n\n  Asherim, 244.\n\n  Assorus, 44.\n\n  Assur, 26, 313.\n\n  Assur-bani-pal, 6, 27.\n\n  Assur-nazir-pal, 36.\n\n  Assyrian excavations, 6.\n\n  Atarpi, story of, 155, 156.\n\n  Aus, 44.\n\n\n  Babel, 161, 163, 168.\n\n  Babil mound, 171.\n\n  Babylon, 39, 42, 313.\n\n  Babylonia, 38.\n\n  Babylonian cities, 293.\n    legends, 3.\n    seals, 178, 330.\n    sources of literature, 16.\n\n  Bel, 47, 53, 113.\n\n  Belat, 53.\n\n  Belus, 36, 44.\n\n  Berosus, 1, 32.\n\n  Birs Nimrud, 167.\n\n  Borsippa, 313.\n\n  Bull, destruction of, 231.\n\n\n  Cainan, 316.\n\n  Calah, 313.\n\n  Calneh, 75, 313.\n\n  Cara-indas, 18.\n\n  Casdim, 318.\n\n  Cedars, 216.\n\n  Chaldean account of deluge, 6.\n    astrology, 20.\n    dynasties, 195.\n\n  Change in Assyrian language, 17.\n\n  Chaos, 60.\n\n  Chedor-laomer, 172.\n\n  Chronology, 18, 198, 199.\n\n  Clay records, 16.\n\n  Coming of deluge, 279.\n\n  Comparison of accounts of creation, 66-69.\n    of deluge, 284-289.\n\n  Composite creatures, 34, 35, 93, 97.\n\n  Conclusion, 295.\n\n  Conquest of Babylon, 19, 195.\n    of Erech, 198.\n    of Khumbaba, 224.\n\n  Constellations, creation of, 64.\n\n  Contents of library, 28-30.\n\n  Copies of texts, 305.\n\n  Cory, translations of, 31-43.\n\n  Creation, 1, 7, 11, 56, 92, 323.\n\n  Creation of animals, 71.\n    of man, 36, 72, 81, 93.\n\n  Creation of moon, 65.\n    of stars, 64.\n    of sun, 70.\n\n  Cure of Izdubar, 291.\n\n  Cush, 185.\n\n  Cutha, 23, 92, 299, 313.\n\n\n  Dache, 44, 60.\n\n  Dachus, 44, 60.\n\n  D\u00e6sius, month, 41.\n\n  \u201cDaily Telegraph,\u201d 6.\n\n  Damascius, 43.\n\n  Dannat, 207.\n\n  Daonus, 39.\n\n  Daos, 41.\n\n  Date of Nimrod, 302.\n\n  Davce, 44.\n\n  Davkina, 52.\n\n  Death of Hea-bani, 276.\n\n  Delitzsch, Dr., 316.\n\n  Deluge, 1, 4, 5, 37, 41, 177, 301.\n    tablet, 9.\n    predicted, 279.\n    commencement of, 283.\n    destruction wrought by, 284.\n    end of, 285.\n    variant accounts of, 301.\n    comparison with Genesis, 302, &c.\n    length of, 306.\n\n  Descent to Hades, 239.\n\n  Description of Hades, 239.\n    of Izdubar legends, 180-183.\n\n  Dibbara, 11.\n    exploits of, 125.\n\n  Domestic animals, 323.\n\n  Dragon, 112, 113.\n\n  Dreams of Izdubar, 204, 258.\n\n\n  Eagle, 11.\n\n  Eagle-headed men, 97.\n\n  Eagle, fable of, 141.\n\n  Eden, 3, 72, 84, 311.\n\n  Elamites, 18, 138, 196.\n\n  Eneuboulus, 41.\n\n  Eneugamus, 41.\n\n  Enoch, 309.\n\n  Enos, 310.\n\n  Erech, 130, 192, 313.\n\n  Eridu, 46, 72, 80, 85, 105, 313.\n\n  Esarhaddon, 27.\n\n  Etana, 11, 141, 146.\n\n  Euedocus, 41.\n\n  Euedorachus, 39.\n\n  Euedoreschus, 41.\n\n  Evil spirits, legend of, 99, 104.\n\n  Expedition to Assyria, 7.\n\n  Exploits of Dibbara, 125.\n\n\n  Fables, 140.\n\n  Fall, 8, 72, 75.\n\n  Filling the ark, 282.\n\n  First tablet of the creation, 57.\n\n  Flaming sword, 86.\n\n  Folk-lore, Babylonian, 160.\n\n  Forest of Khumbaba, 222, 272.\n\n  Fox, fable of, 147.\n\n  Fox Talbot, Mr., 249.\n\n\n  Ganganna, 193, 313.\n\n  Generation of the gods, 61.\n\n  Genesis, 1, 3, 304.\n    stories, 155.\n\n\n  Hea, 51, 106, 177.\n\n  Hea-bani, 6, 204, 205.\n\n  Hea-bani comes to Erech, 206.\n\n  Herakles, 177.\n\n  Hesperides, 177.\n\n  Hittites, 311.\n\n  Horse and ox, fable of, 150.\n\n\n  Illinus, 44.\n\n  Ishmael, 318.\n\n  Istar, 11, 49, 51, 137, 226.\n    loves Izdubar, 227.\n    amours of, 229.\n    anger of, 230.\n    descent to Hades, 239.\n    in Hades, 243.\n    return of, 245.\n\n  Itak, 125, 138.\n\n  Izdubar, 5, 175, &c.\n    legends, 6, 11, 21, 175, &c.\n    same as Nimrod, 176.\n    parentage, 183.\n    exploits of, 184, &c.\n    conquers Khumbaba, 217.\n    loved by Istar, 227.\n    struck with disease, 253.\n    meets scorpion men, 259.\n    meets Sabitu and Siduri, 265.\n    meets Nis-Hea, 265.\n    sees Xisuthrus, 269.\n    hears the story of the flood, 279.\n    cured of his illness, 290.\n    returns to Erech, 294.\n    mourns for Hea-bani, 295.\n    author of Epic, 12.\n\n\n  Jared, 311.\n\n  Jewish traditions, 303.\n\n\n  Karrak, 25, 128, 313.\n\n  Kazartu, 331.\n\n  Khammuragas, 19, 190, 198.\n\n  Kharsak-kalama, 299.\n\n  Khumbaba, 216, &c.\n\n  Kissare, 44.\n\n  Kisu, 299, 313.\n\n  Kouyunjik, 2, 13.\n\n  Kudur-mabuk, 25.\n\n\n  Laban, 316.\n\n  Lamech, 310, 316.\n\n  Lament of Izdubar, 295.\n\n  Language of inscriptions, 17, 21.\n\n  Larancha, 40, 313.\n\n  Larsa, 25, 313.\n\n  Layard, Sir A.\u202fH., 2.\n\n  Lecture on the deluge, 5.\n\n  Lenormant, M.\u202fF., 59, 249, 307.\n\n  Libraries, 15.\n\n  Library of Assur-bani-pal, 27.\n\n  Lig-Bagas, 24, 195.\n\n  Literature, Babylonian and Assyrian, 13.\n\n  Local mythology, 46.\n\n  Lot, 174.\n\n  Lugal-turda, 121, 124, 202, 234.\n\n\n  Mammetu, 276.\n\n  Man, creation of, 72.\n\n  Mas, mountain of, 259, 261, 276.\n\n  Media, 196.\n\n  Megalarus, 39.\n\n  Merodach, 52, 86, 103, 190.\n\n  Methuselah, 310, 315.\n\n  Moon, creation of, 65.\n\n  Moymis, 43.\n\n  Mummu-tiamatu, 59.\n\n  M\u00fcller, Prof. Max, 250.\n\n  Mu-seri-ina-namari or Mua, 270, &c., 283.\n\n  Mythology, 45.\n\n\n  Nabu-bal-idina, 26.\n\n  Names in Genesis, 295.\n\n  Naram-Sin, 19.\n\n  Natural history, 29.\n\n  Nebo, 52, 120.\n\n  Nebuchadnezzar, 30, 171.\n\n  Ner, 141.\n\n  Nergal, 47, 54.\n\n  Nes-Hea or Ur-Hea, 265, 267, 268, 291, &c.\n\n  Nimrod, 176, 184-186, 321.\n\n  Nineveh, 313.\n\n  Ninip, 47, 54.\n\n  Ninsun, 297.\n\n  Nipur, 313.\n\n  Nis-Sin, 141.\n\n  Nizir, 4, 137, 285, 307.\n\n  Noah, 316.\n\n  Nusku, 48.\n\n\n  Oannes, 12, 33, 39, 40, 106, 324.\n\n  Odacon, 40.\n\n  Omoroca, 35.\n\n  Oppert, Prof., 65, 76, 249, 316.\n\n  Orion, 64.\n\n  Otiartes, 40.\n\n\n  Pantibiblon, 39.\n\n  Paradise, 72, 84.\n\n  Patriarchs, 290.\n\n  Pinches, Mr., 273.\n\n  Pine trees, 216.\n\n  Prometheus, 43, 123.\n\n\n  Rassam, Mr. Hormuzd, 7, 278.\n\n  Rawlinson, Sir H.\u202fC., 2, 3, 84, 85, 137, 169, 171, 176, 188, 246, 323.\n\n  Resen, 185, 313.\n\n  Resurrection of Hea-bani, 298.\n\n  Riddle of the wise man, 159.\n\n  Rim-Agu, 17.\n\n\n  Sabbath, 89, 308.\n\n  Sabitu, 264.\n\n  Sacrifice, 286.\n\n  Samas, 47, 54, 100, 205, 301.\n\n  Sargon, 19, 27, 82, 319.\n    saved in ark, 319.\n\n  Sar-tuli-elli, 74, 75, 164, 166.\n\n  Satyrs, 204.\n\n  Scorpion men, 259.\n\n  Semitic race, 19, 83.\n\n  Senaar, 42.\n\n  Sending out birds, 286.\n\n  Sennacherib, 27.\n\n  Serpent, 88, 141, 142.\n\n  Seven evil spirits, 99, 104.\n\n  Shalmaneser II., 26.\n\n  Sibyl, 43.\n\n  Siduri, 264.\n\n  Sin, 47, 53.\n\n  Sin of Zu, 123.\n\n  Sin-lici-unnini, 12.\n\n  Sinuri, 160.\n\n  Sippara, 37, 39, 313.\n\n  Sisithrus, 41.\n\n  Sisythes, 311.\n\n  Society of Biblical Arch\u00e6ology, 5.\n\n  Sodom and Gomorrah, destruction of, 172, 173.\n\n  Sons of God, 83.\n\n  Speaking trees, 257.\n\n  Stars, creation of, 64.\n\n  Sumir, 20.\n\n  Sun, creation of, 70.\n\n  Surippak, 313.\n\n\n  Table of gods, 55.\n\n  Tablets, mutilation of, 9.\n\n  Tammuz, 64, 85, 192, 229, 238, 245, 246, 247.\n\n  Tauthe, 43.\n\n  Thalassa, 35.\n\n  Thalatth, 35.\n\n  Tiamat, 11, 43, 59, 60, 109, 113.\n\n  Tiglath Pileser, 26.\n\n  Titan, 43, 146.\n\n  Tower in stages, 169, 170.\n\n  Tower of Babel, 7, 42, 161-172.\n\n\n  Ur, 20, 24, 313, 318.\n\n\n  War in heaven, 113.\n\n\n  Xisuthrus, 36, 37, 40, 279, &c.\n\n\n  Zaidu, 208, 209.\n\n  Zibanit, 156.\n\n  Zillah, 316.\n\n  Zirat-banit, 52.\n\n  Zirghul, 313.\n\n  Zodiac, 68, 176, 301.\n\n  Zu, 115, 123.\n\n\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n                      A NEW EDITION NOW READY OF\n\n                         Assyrian Discoveries.\n\n   An Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh\n                         during 1873 and 1874.\n\n                           By GEORGE SMITH,\n\n   _Late of the Department of Oriental Antiquities, British Museum_.\n\n       With Maps, Wood-Cuts, and Photographs.      One Vol. 8vo.\n\n                             Cloth, $4.00.\n\n                        OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.\n\n_From the N.\u202fY. Daily Tribune._\n\n\u201cMr. Smith appears to have engaged in his work with equal ardor,\nperseverance, and good judgment. His habits as a scholar have not\nimpaired his efficiency as a practical man. The recital of his\nexperience is marked by frankness, modesty, and great intelligence.\u201d\n\n_From the St. Louis Democrat._\n\n\u201cThe book reveals much of the hitherto hidden history of the Assyrian\nempire, and shows that its people were wise in many things. The maxims\ntranslated from the records, and the curious devices and pictures\nbrought to the earth\u2019s surface, give us a clearer knowledge of the\ncharacter of the people that inhabited that nation than we have gained\nfrom any other source. * * * It is a work of great importance, and will\nbe welcomed by all scholars and antiquaries.\u201d\n\n_From the N.\u202fY. Evening Post._\n\n\u201cMr. Smith\u2019s book is, in clearness and accuracy, all that could be\nwished; himself a great authority on Assyrian antiquities, he has\nprepared a work which no person who has studied, or intends to study,\nthis fascinating subject should fail to read.\u201d\n\n_From the Cincinnati Commercial._\n\n\u201cIt is in the hope that these rich, first fruits of investigation will\nstimulate inquiry, and induce the British Government to take hold of\nthe matter, and bring its influence to bear in such a manner upon the\nOttoman Government as to secure its co-operation in prosecuting a\nthorough system of investigation, that we close Mr. Smith\u2019s absorbingly\ninteresting book.\u201d\n\n_From the Watchman and Reflector._\n\n\u201cHis book is a simple, straightforward record of what he accomplished,\nwritten not to catch the applause of the ignorant, but to inform the\nwise and the thoughtful. The narrative of personal experience is\ninteresting, without trace of straining for sensational effect. But the\nchief value of the work is for its account of things accomplished.\u201d\n\n\u2042 _For sale by all booksellers, or sent, post-paid, upon receipt of\nprice, by_\n\n  CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS, PUBLISHERS,\n  743 AND 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.\n\n\n         The Origin and Growth of Religion, as Illustrated by\n\n                           _THE RELIGION OF\n                            ANCIENT EGYPT_.\n\n                         By P. LE PAGE RENOUF.\n\n                  (_The Hibbert Lectures for 1879._)\n\n                     One volume, 12mo,      $1.50\n\n M. Le Page Renouf\u2019s great reputation as an Egyptologist led to his\n selection to deliver the second course of the already celebrated\n Hibbert series. His lectures are the fit companions of Professor\n M\u00fcller\u2019s, both in learning and in interest. The glimpses laboriously\n gained by the aid of long undeciphered hieroglyphics into one of the\n most mystical and profound of all the ancient beliefs, have always had\n a special fascination; and the time has now come when it is possible\n to join their results into a fairly complete picture. Done as this is\n by M. Renouf, with a certain French vividness and clearness, it has a\n very unusual, and, indeed, unique interest.\n\nCRITICAL NOTICES.\n\n\u201cThe narrative is so well put together, the chain of reasoning and\ninference so obvious, and the illustration so apt, that the general\nreader can go through it with unabated interest.\u201d\u2014_Hartford Post._\n\n\u201cNo one can rise from reading this book, in which, by the way, the\nauthor is careful about drawing his conclusions, without having\nincreased respect for the religion of ancient Egypt, and hardly less\nthan admiration for its ethical system.\u201d\u2014_The Churchman._\n\n\u201cThese lectures are invaluable to students of Egyptology, and as the\nreligion of ancient Egypt stands alone and unconnected with other\nreligions, except those which have been modified by it, itself being\napparently original and underived, they should be highly interesting\nto all students of religious history.... It is impossible in a brief\nnotice to convey an adequate idea of Professor Renouf\u2019s admirable\nlectures.\u201d\u2014_N. Y. World._\n\n\u201cThe present work forms a remarkably intelligent and acutely critical\ncontribution to the history of the origin and growth of religion,\nas illustrated by the religion of ancient Egypt. As a specialist,\nProfessor Renouf is able to bring forth much information not ordinarily\naccessible to the general reader, and this he does in such a carefully\ndigested form as to make the work entertaining and instructive in the\nhighest degree.\u201d\u2014_Boston Courier._\n\n\u2042 _For sale by all booksellers, or sent, post-paid, upon receipt of\nprice, by_\n\n  CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS, PUBLISHERS,\n  743 AND 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.\n\n\n  NEW, REVISED, AND ENLARGED EDITION OF DR. SCHLIEMANN\u2019S GREAT WORK.\n\n                      _DISCOVERIES AND RESEARCHES\n                            on the sites of\n                      ANCIENT MYCEN\u00c6 AND TIRYNS._\n\n      By DR. HENRY SCHLIEMANN, Author of \u201cTroy and its Remains.\u201d\n\n               With Preface by the HON. W.\u202fE. GLADSTONE.\n\n   _With Maps, Colored Plates, Views and Cuts, representing several\n        Hundred Objects of Antiquity discovered on the Sites._\n\n                 [IN ALL, FIVE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.]\n\n                           CRITICAL NOTICES.\n\n \u201cIn this magnificent volume we have finally the story of Dr.\n Schliemann\u2019s last and most important discoveries. He has been the\n most fortunate of arch\u00e6ological explorers; for even a greater luck\n than rewarded him in the Troad has fallen to his portion in Argolis.\n * * * We suspect that the final verdict of scholars will that Dr.\n Schliemann has actually discovered the remains of the man, some part\n of whose history, at least, is preserved in the Agamemnon of Homer and\n \u00c6schylus.\u201d\u2014_The N. Y. Tribune._\n\n \u201cDr. Schliemann\u2019s book is worth all the prolegomens and commentaries\n upon Homer that have been written since the revival of learning.\u201d\u2014_The\n Boston Globe._\n\n \u201cThe interest of the work is not confined to either England or\n America. Every enlightened nation will welcome it, for it opens up a\n new world to the modern generation. No work of the time has attracted\n wider attention.\u201d\u2014_Boston Post._\n\n \u201cThis splendid volume is a museum of itself which every lover of\n history and classical literature will feel that he must possess, and\n which any intelligent reader is competent to understand and enjoy by\n means of its abundant and truly splendid illustrations.\u201d\u2014_Buffalo\n Commercial Advertiser._\n\n \u201cDr. Schliemann has made the most important contribution of the\n present century to Greek arch\u00e6ology.\u201d\u2014_The Nation._\n\n \u201cWe commend the volume, with its admirable typography and\n multitudinous illustrations, to the attention of our readers,\n assuring them that they will find it possessed of a rare and enduring\n interest.\u201d\u2014_Boston Journal._\n\n \u201cWe add our testimony in saying that a copy of Mycen\u00e6 is necessary\n to the library of every scholar, and\u2014which is no mean praise\u2014that\n the printing and illustrations of this work are worthy of the\n matter.\u201d\u2014_Baltimore Gazette._\n\nOne vol. quarto, superbly printed on superfine paper, cloth extra,\n$7.50.\n\n\u2042 _For sale by all booksellers, or sent, post-paid, upon receipt of\nprice, by_\n\n  CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS, PUBLISHERS,\n  743 AND 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.\n\n\n                                 _The\n                       Conflict of Christianity_\n\n                           WITH HEATHENISM.\n\n                        By DR. GERHARD UHLHORN.\n\n                            _TRANSLATED BY_\n\n            PROF. EGBERT C. SMYTH and REV. C.\u202fJ. H. ROPES.\n\n                     One Volume, Crown 8vo, $2.50.\n\n This volume describes with extraordinary vividness and spirit the\n religious and moral condition of the Pagan world, the rise and spread\n of Christianity, its conflict with heathenism, and its final victory.\n There is no work that portrays the heroic age of the ancient church\n with equal spirit, elegance, and incisive power. The author has made\n thorough and independent study both of the early Christian literature\n and also of the contemporary records of classic heathenism.\n\nCRITICAL NOTICES.\n\n\u201cIt is easy to see why this volume is so highly esteemed. It is\nsystematic, thorough, and concise. But its power is in the wide mental\nvision and well-balanced imagination of the author, which enable him to\nreconstruct the scenes of ancient history. An exceptional clearness and\nforce mark his style.\u201d\u2014_Boston Advertiser._\n\n\u201cOne might read many books without obtaining more than a fraction of\nthe profitable information here conveyed; and he might search a long\ntime before finding one which would so thoroughly fix his attention and\ncommand his interest.\u201d\u2014_Phil. S.\u202fS. Times._\n\n\u201cDr. Uhlhorn has described the great conflict with the power of a\nmaster. His style is strong and attractive, his descriptions vivid and\ngraphic, his illustrations highly colored, and his presentation of the\nsubject earnest and effective.\u201d\u2014_Providence Journal._\n\n\u201cThe work is marked for its broad humanitarian views, its learning, and\nthe wide discretion in selecting from the great field the points of\ndeepest interest.\u201d\u2014_Chicago Inter-Ocean._\n\n\u201cThis is one of those clear, strong, thorough-going books which are a\nscholar\u2019s delight.\u201d\u2014_Hartford Religious Herald._\n\n\u2042 _For sale by all booksellers, or sent post-paid upon receipt of\nprice, by_\n\n  CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS,\n  NOS. 743 AND 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.","title":"The Chaldean account of Genesis : $b Containing the description of the creation, the fall of man, the deluge, the tower of Babel, the times of the patriarchs","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":75788}